Secretary_of_the_Navy

United States Secretary of the Navy

United States Secretary of the Navy

Statutory office and the head of the U.S. Department of the Navy

The secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer (10 U.S.C. § 8013) and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense.

Quick Facts Secretary of the Navy, Style ...

By law, the secretary of the Navy must be a civilian at least five years removed from active military service. The secretary is appointed by the president and requires confirmation by the Senate.

The secretary of the Navy was, from its creation in 1798, a member of the president's Cabinet until 1949, when the secretary of the Navy (and the secretaries of the Army and Air Force) were by amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 made subordinate to the secretary of defense.[1]

On August 7, 2021, Carlos Del Toro was confirmed as secretary of the Navy.[2]

From 2001 to 2019, proposals to rename the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps, which would have also renamed the secretary of the Navy to the secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps, were introduced with wide support in the United States Congress, but failed due to the opposition of Senator and former U.S. Navy officer John McCain.[3]

Responsibilities

The Department of the Navy (DoN) consists of two uniformed services: the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps.[4] The secretary of the Navy is responsible for, and has statutory authority (10 U.S.C. § 8013) to "conduct all the affairs of the Department of the Navy", i.e. as its chief executive officer, subject to the limits of the law, and the directions of the president and the secretary of defense. In effect, all authority within the Navy and Marine Corps, unless specifically exempted by law, is derivative of the authority vested in the secretary of the Navy.

Specifically enumerated responsibilities of the SECNAV in the aforementioned section are: recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, mobilizing, and demobilizing. The secretary also oversees the construction, outfitting, and repair of naval ships, equipment, and facilities. SECNAV is responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies and programs that are consistent with the national security policies and objectives established by the president or the secretary of defense.[5][6]

The secretary of the Navy is a member of the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB), chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Furthermore, the secretary has several statutory responsibilities under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) with respect to the administration of the military justice system for the Navy & the Marine Corps, including the authority to convene general courts-martial and to commute sentences.

The principal military advisers to the SECNAV are the two service chiefs of the naval services: for matters regarding the Navy the chief of naval operations (CNO), and for matters regarding the Marine Corps the commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC). The CNO and the Commandant act as the principal executive agents of the SECNAV within their respective services to implement the orders of the secretary.

The United States Navy Regulations is the principal regulatory document of the Department of the Navy, and all changes to it must be approved by the secretary of the Navy.

U.S. Coast Guard

Whenever the United States Coast Guard operates as a service within the Department of the Navy, the secretary of the Navy has the same powers and duties with respect to the Coast Guard as the secretary of homeland security when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Department of the Navy.[7]

The Navy Secretariat

The Office of the Secretary of the Navy, also known within DoD as the Navy Secretariat or simply just as the Secretariat in a DoN setting, is the immediate headquarters staff that supports the secretary in discharging his duties. The principal officials of the Secretariat include the under secretary of the Navy (the secretary's principal civilian deputy), the assistant secretaries of the Navy (ASN), the general counsel of the Navy, the judge advocate general of the Navy (JAG), the Naval inspector general (NIG), the chief of Legislative Affairs, and the chief of naval research. The Office of the Secretary of the Navy has sole responsibility within the Department of the Navy for acquisition, auditing, financial and information management, legislative affairs, and public affairs.[8]

Pursuant to SecNavInst 5090.5F, the Department of the Navy Environmental Programs Manual, the secretary of the Navy and chief of naval operations recognize a number of commands annually for achievements in such areas as environmental quality, environmental cleanup, natural resources conservation, cultural resources management, pollution prevention, and recycling.[9]

The chief of naval operations and the commandant of the Marine Corps have their own separate staffs, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (also known by its acronym OPNAV) and Headquarters Marine Corps.

Secretaries of the Navy

  Denotes acting secretaries

[10]

Continental Congress

More information Position, Portrait ...

(Post of Secretary of Marine created but remained vacant)

Executive Department, 1798–1949

More information No., Portrait ...
  Denotes an Acting United States Secretary of the Navy

Military Department (Department of Defense), 1949–present

More information No., Portrait ...
  Denotes an Acting United States Secretary of the Navy

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Guide to Federal Records – General Records of the Department of the Navy, 1798–1947". Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
  2. [2]
    Quinn, Melissa; Segers, Grace (20 January 2021). "Who is leading federal agencies until Senate confirms Biden's nominees". CBS News. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  3. [3]
    Bacon, Lance M. (2 May 2016). "Congressman: I'll 'keep fighting like a bulldog' to rename the Navy Department for Marines". Marine Corps Times. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  4. [4]
    "Responsibilities". The US Navy. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
  5. [5]
    "10 U.S. Code § 8013 – Secretary of the Navy". LII. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  6. [6]
    "The Honorable Donald C. Winter". U.S. Navy Biographies. 3 January 2006. Archived from the original on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
  7. [7]
    "10 U.S. Code § 8013a – Secretary of the Navy: powers with respect to Coast Guard". Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  8. [8]
    "10 U.S. Code § 8014 – Office of the Secretary of the Navy". Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  9. [9]
    "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 1 April 2003. Retrieved 4 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. [10]
    "Department of the Navy, Office of the General Counsel (DON-OGC) – OGC History". Archived from the original on 24 July 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
  11. [11]
    Joseph Hewes Archived 10 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval Historical and Heritage Command.
  12. [12]
    Benson J. Lossing. Household History for All Readers Archived 30 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine. 1877. Republished in Our Country vol. 2
  13. [13]
    Staff reporter (29 December 2005). "Acting Deputy Defense Secretary Relinquishes Top Navy Post". American Forces Press Service. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009. Navy Undersecretary Dionel M. Aviles will serve as acting Navy secretary effective today. Donald Winter, who was confirmed by the Senate last month, will be sworn in as the 74th secretary of the Navy on Jan. 3.
  14. [14]
    "Navy Secretary Departs Office" (Press release). United States Department of Defense. 13 March 2009. Archived from the original on 9 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009. The 74th Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter, resigned his office today as planned. Winter had agreed to remain in office until March 13, 2009, to ease the transition of the Department of Defense. [...] BJ Penn will be the acting Secretary of the Navy until the Senate confirms a nominee chosen by President Barack Obama.
  15. [15]
    Staff reporter (19 May 2005). "Mabus Sworn in as New Navy Secretary". NNS. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2009. Ray Mabus, former Mississippi governor and U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was sworn in May 19 as the 75th secretary of the Navy. (Archived by WebCite at WebCite)
  16. [16]
    "Kenneth Braithwaite Sworn in as Secretary of the Navy". USNI News. 29 May 2020. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
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