The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness, or ASD(R), is a Defense Department position responsible for civilian and military personnel policy, readiness of the force, military community and family policy and diversity management and equal opportunity.
Its predecessor, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness and Force Management, or ASD(R&FM), was a high-ranking position in the Defense Department responsible for the policies, plans and programs for military and civilian personnel management, including recruitment, education, career development, equal opportunity, compensation, recognition, discipline and separation of all Department of Defense personnel. The ASD(FMP) reported directly to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, or USD(P&R). The ASD(FMP) was replaced in 2002 by a new Deputy Under Secretary position, which is today known as the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
History An Assistant Secretary of Defense was first assigned oversight of DoD manpower, personnel and reserve affairs in 1950. Defense Directive 5124.1, signed 20 April 1977, also delegated oversight of logistics to this position. Following the FY 1984 Defense Authorization Act, the reserve affairs functions were transferred to the new Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. Meanwhile, installations and logistics functions transferred to a new Assistant Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Logistics) in July 1985.
From the mid-80s to mid-90s, the position was responsible for military and civilian manpower training, family matters, and review of manpower requirements, both military and civilian, and also exercised direction of equal opportunity matters. After the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (P.L. 103-160) established the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, this position was redesignated the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management Policy, and served as a staff assistant to the USD(P&R). The position was abolished in November 2002 when the new Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness took office. The portfolio of the former ASD(FMP) is today distributed across a Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (previously known as the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense) and five Deputy Assistant Secretaries of Defense (previously known as Deputy Under Secretaries of Defense).
Office Holders The table below includes both the various titles of this post over time, as well as all the holders of those offices. + Assistant Secretaries of Defense (Readiness) Name Tenure SecDef(s) Served Under President(s) Served Under Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower and Personnel) Anna M. Rosenberg November 15, 1950 – January 20, 1953 George C. Marshall Robert A. Lovett Harry Truman John A. Hannah February 11, 1953 – July 31, 1954 Charles E. Wilson Dwight Eisenhower Carter L. Burgess September 24, 1954 – September, 1955 Charles E. Wilson Dwight Eisenhower Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Personnel, and Reserve) Carter L. Burgess September, 1955 – January 22, 1957 Charles E. Wilson Dwight Eisenhower William H. Francis April 19, 1957 – May 24, 1958 Charles E. Wilson Neil H. McElroy Dwight Eisenhower Charles O. Finucane July 15, 1958 – January 19, 1961 Neil H. McElroy Thomas S. Gates Dwight Eisenhower Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower) Carlisle P. Runge February 17, 1961 – July 30, 1962 Robert S. McNamara John F. Kennedy Norman S. Paul August 8, 1962 – September 30, 1965 Robert S. McNamara John F. Kennedy Lyndon Johnson Thomas D. Morris October 1, 1965 – August 31, 1967 Robert S. McNamara Lyndon Johnson Alfred B. Fitt October 9, 1967 – December 31, 1967 Robert S. McNamara Lyndon Johnson Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) Alfred B. Fitt January 1, 1968 – February 20, 1969 Robert S. McNamara Clark M. Clifford Melvin R. Laird Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon Roger T. Kelley March 3, 1969 – June 1, 1973 Melvin R. Laird Elliot L. Richardson Richard Nixon Carl W. Clewlow (Acting) June 1, 1973 – September 1, 1973 Elliot L. Richardson James R. Schlesinger Richard Nixon William K. Brehm September 1, 1973 – March 18, 1976 James R. Schlesinger Donald H. Rumsfeld Richard Nixon Gerald Ford David P. Taylor July 7, 1976 – February 12, 1977 Donald H. Rumsfeld Harold Brown Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics) John P. White May 11, 1977 – October 31, 1978 Harold Brown Jimmy Carter Robert B. Pirie, Jr. June 17, 1979 – January 20, 1981 Harold Brown Jimmy Carter Lawrence J. Korb May 4, 1981 – January 12, 1984 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Installations, and Logistics) Lawrence J. Korb January 12, 1984 – July 5, 1985 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management and Personnel) Lawrence J. Korb July 5, 1985 – August 31, 1985 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan Chapman B. Cox December 7, 1985 – July 8, 1987 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan Grant S. Green, Jr. February 3, 1988 – March 5, 1989 Frank C. Carlucci III William H. Taft IV (Acting) Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush Christopher Jehn November 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993 Richard B. Cheney George H. W. Bush Edwin Dorn July 2, 1993 – March 16, 1994 Leslie Aspin, Jr. William J. Perry Bill Clinton Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management Policy) Frederick F. Y. Pang October 11, 1994 – November 15, 1997 William J. Perry William S. Cohen Bill Clinton Francis M. Rush, Jr. (Acting) November 15, 1997 – November 12, 1999 William S. Cohen Bill Clinton Alphonso Maldon, Jr. November 12, 1999 – January 19, 2001 William S. Cohen Bill Clinton Charles S. Abell May 8, 2001 – November 14, 2002 Donald H. Rumsfeld George W. Bush Assistant Secretary of Defense (Readiness and Force Management) Frederick E. Vollrath (Acting) March 26, 2012 – April 18, 2013 Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel Barack Obama Frederick E. Vollrath April 19, 2013 – June 14, 2014 Chuck Hagel Barack Obama Stephanie Barna (Acting) June 14, 2014 – April 8, 2016 Chuck Hagel Ashton Carter Barack Obama Dan Feehan (Acting) April 8, 2016 – January 20, 2017 Ashton Carter Barack Obama Assistant Secretary of Defense (Readiness)Elizabeth P. Van Winkle (Acting)January, 21, 2017 - October, 31, 2017James MattisDonald TrumpVeronica Daigle (Acting)October 31, 2017 - June 27, 2019James Mattis Mark EsperDonald Trump Veronica Daigle June 27, 2019 – January 31, 2020 Mark Esper Donald Trump Tom Constable (Acting) January 31, 2020 – July 22, 2021 Mark Esper Christopher C. Miller (Acting) David Norquist (Acting) Lloyd Austin Donald Trump Joe Biden Shawn Skelly July 22, 2021 – January 20, 2025 Lloyd Austin Joe Biden Jules W. Hurst III (Acting) January 20, 2025 - July 18, 2025 Pete Hegseth Donald Trump Peter I. Belk (Acting) July 18, 2025 – February 23, 2026 Pete Hegseth Donald Trump Maurice Todd February 23, 2026 – Present Pete Hegseth Donald Trump
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