Kathleen Hicks | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| 35thUnited States Deputy Secretary of Defense | |
| In office February 9, 2021 – January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | David Norquist |
| Succeeded by | Steve Feinberg |
| 9thPrincipal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy | |
| In office May 24, 2012 – July 2, 2013 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | James N. Miller |
| Succeeded by | Brian P. McKeon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kathleen Anne Holland (1970-09-25)September 25, 1970 (age 55) Fairfield, California, U.S. |
| Spouse | Thomas W. Hicks |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Mount Holyoke College (BA) University of Maryland, College Park (MPA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD) |
Kathleen Anne Holland Hicks[1][2] (born September 25, 1970)[1][3] is a former American civil servant who served as theUnited States deputy secretary of defense from 2021 to 2025. She is the first Senate-confirmed woman in this role and is the highest-ranking woman to have served in theUnited States Department of Defense.
Hicks previously served as theprincipal deputyunder secretary of defense for policy during theObama administration.[4] By 2020, Hicks was anacademic and national security advisor working as a senior vice president and director of the international security program at theCenter for Strategic and International Studies.[5]
Hicks completed a B.A. in history and politics atMount Holyoke College in 1991, where she graduated withmagna cum laude andPhi Beta Kappa honors.[6] In 1993, she earned an M.P.A. in national security studies atUniversity of Maryland, College Park.[7] Hicks completed a Ph.D. in political science fromMassachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010.[8] Her dissertation was titledChange Agents: Who Leads and Why in the Execution of U.S. National Security Policy.Charles Stewart III was Hicks' doctoral advisor.[7]
From 1993 to 2006, Hicks was a careercivil servant in theOffice of the Secretary of Defense, rising fromPresidential Management Fellow to theSenior Executive Service. She was a senior fellow at theCenter for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) from 2006 to 2009, leading a variety ofnational security research projects.[6]
During theObama administration in 2009, Hicks was appointed deputy undersecretary of defense for strategy, plans, and forces.[9] In 2012, Hicks was theprincipal deputy under secretary of defense for policy during theObama administration.[10] In that role, she was a liaison for the 2010Quadrennial Defense Review and oversaw the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance.[11] Hicks was a presidentially appointed commissioner for the National Commission on the Future of the Army.[6] She was also appointed to the Commission on theNational Defense Strategy of the United States.[6] She is aMember of the Council on Foreign Relations and has served on the boards ofThe Aerospace Corporation and theU.S. Naval Institute,[12][13] as well as the boards of advisors for theTruman National Security Project andSoldierStrong.[6] Hicks formerly served as a senior vice president, Henry A. Kissinger Chair, and director of the international security program at CSIS. She concurrently served as the Donald Marron scholar at thePaul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.[11] In 2020, Hicks led theUnited States Department of Defense (DoD) agency review team, tasked with reviewing issues related to defense and national security during thepresidential transition of Joe Biden.[14]
On December 30, 2020, Hicks was announced as then U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for theUnited States deputy secretary of defense. She appeared before theSenate Armed Services Committee on February 2, 2021.[15] She was confirmed byvoice vote by the full Senate on February 8, 2021, and sworn into office on February 9, 2021.[16] She is the first Senate-confirmed woman in this role.[17] Hicks is the highest ranking woman to have served in the DoD.[18]
Hicks has launched initiatives that attempt to shorten technology adoption timelines and speed fielding of new defense capabilities.[19] She spearheadedReplicator, an initiative initially focused on fielding autonomous systems to help counter China's military.[20] She oversees the military's firstcommercial space integration strategy,[21] as well as several of thePentagon's largestmissile defense and long-range strike programs.[22][23] She is also in charge of the military's efforts related toclimate change.[24] Hicks established the Deputy's Workforce Council in the DoD to address workforce challenges such as extremism and a lack of diversity.[25] She has also focused on efforts to take care of service members and their families,[26] including counteringsexual assault and harassment and preventingsuicide.[27][28][29]
In January 2024, Hicks temporarily assumed the functions and duties of thesecretary of defense whileLloyd Austin was hospitalized. Hicks performed the role of secretary of defense while vacationing inPuerto Rico, but was left unaware of the reason why for three days.[30] In February 2024, Austin transferred his authority to Hicks while again being hospitalized.[31]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.He suggests that advocates for change, such as Hicks, can only do so much... Martell was appointed by Hicks to help advance adoption and use of the technology.
It's among impediments Hicks will have to address as she and her Pentagon colleagues push their new "Replicator" initiative, which aims to spur mass production of low-cost drones for the military... Hicks' visit is part of a multiyear Pentagon push to make tech-sector innovations available to the US military
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who has spearheaded Pentagon efforts to bring cutting-edge technology into defense programs, is overseeing the military's first commercial space integration strategy.
Hicks, the first woman to hold the Pentagon's number two position, leads the military's different efforts on climate change.
Senior defense officials, led by Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, sought out troops, commanders and counselors during a recent visit as the Defense Department assesses what's worked and what hasn't in combatting despair. Hicks' tour came as the Pentagon sorts through dozens of recommendations from an independent commission on combatting suicide in the military.
Media related toKathleen H. Hicks at Wikimedia Commons
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| Preceded by | United States Deputy Secretary of Defense 2021–2025 | Succeeded by |
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