1. Kathleen Hicks is the first Senate-confirmed woman in this role and is the highest-ranking woman to have served in the United States Department of Defense.
22 Facts About Kathleen Hicks
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Kathleen Hicks's dissertation was titled Change Agents: Who Leads and Why in the Execution of US National Security Policy.
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From 1993 to 2006, Kathleen Hicks was a career civil servant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, rising from Presidential Management Fellow to the Senior Executive Service.
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Kathleen Hicks was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 2006 to 2009, leading a variety of national security research projects.
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In 2012, Kathleen Hicks was the principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy during the Obama administration.
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Kathleen Hicks was a presidentially appointed commissioner for the National Commission on the Future of the Army.
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Kathleen Hicks was appointed to the Commission on the National Defense Strategy of the United States.
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Kathleen Hicks is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has served on the boards of The Aerospace Corporation and the US Naval Institute, as well as the boards of advisors for the Truman National Security Project and SoldierStrong.
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Kathleen Hicks concurrently served as the Donald Marron scholar at the Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.
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In 2020, Kathleen Hicks led the United States Department of Defense agency review team, tasked with reviewing issues related to defense and national security during the presidential transition of Joe Biden.
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On December 30,2020, Kathleen Hicks was announced as then US President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for the United States deputy secretary of defense.
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Kathleen Hicks appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee on February 2,2021.
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Kathleen Hicks was confirmed by voice vote by the full Senate on February 8,2021, and sworn into office on February 9,2021.
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Kathleen Hicks is the first Senate-confirmed woman in this role.
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Kathleen Hicks is the highest ranking woman to have served in the DoD.
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Kathleen Hicks has launched initiatives that attempt to shorten technology adoption timelines and speed fielding of new defense capabilities.
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Kathleen Hicks spearheaded Replicator, an initiative initially focused on fielding autonomous systems to help counter China's military.
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Kathleen Hicks oversees the military's first commercial space integration strategy, as well as several of the Pentagon's largest missile defense and long-range strike programs.
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Kathleen Hicks is in charge of the military's efforts related to climate change.
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Kathleen Hicks established the Deputy's Workforce Council in the DoD to address workforce challenges such as extremism and a lack of diversity.
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In January 2024, Kathleen Hicks temporarily assumed the functions and duties of the secretary of defense while Lloyd Austin was hospitalized.
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Kathleen Hicks performed the role of secretary of defense while vacationing in Puerto Rico, but was left unaware of the reason why for three days.