Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work speaks with military dependents during the Military Child Education Coalition National Training Seminar in Washington, June 28, 2016. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Brigitte N. Brantley/Released)

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan speaks with reporters aboard a government aircraft en route to South Korea, June 2, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan delivers remarks at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore, June 1, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

US President Joe Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley attend the 21st 9/11 Pentagon Observance Ceremony on Sept. 11, 2022, at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Alexander Kubitza)

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan meets with Indonesia’s Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu, at the Ministry of Defense, Jakarta, Indonesia, May 30, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

SecDef' 13: Redrawing the security map - Plenary Session I: Transatlantic security: Tactical and strategic challenges - Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Co-president Security & Defence Agenda and Giles Merritt, Director, Security & Defence Agenda

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan speaks with reporters at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue 2019, Singapore, May 31, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

Challenge Coin: MNC-I Lloyd Austin

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan delivers remarks at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore, June 1, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan meets with Singapore’s Minister for Defense Ng Eng Hen, Singapore, May 31, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

SecDef' 13: Redrawing the security map - Parallel session III: EU-NATO: The search for a common cyber-strategy - Sébastien Héon, Director of Political Affairs for Cassidian Cyber Security, EADS

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard delivers remarks to U.S. Marines after a morning PT session alongside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer, and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlos A. Ruiz at Fort Myer-Henderson Hall, Va., April 17, 2025. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza)

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan arrives in Singapore, May 30, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

Japan’s Minister of Defense Takeshi Iwaya delivers his opening remarks during a U.S.-Japan-South Korean trilateral with U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan and South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo, on the sidelines of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore, June 2, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work stops by the First Class Petty Officer Association blood drive at the Pentagon to thank both volunteers and donors for their efforts, Feb. 6., 2015. (Photo by Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz)(Released)

18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey joined Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to address the media during a press briefing in the Pentagon, Aug. 21, 2014. DoD photo by SSG Sean K. Harp, USA

SecDef' 13: Redrawing the security map - Parallel session III: EU-NATO: The search for a common cyber-strategy - Sébastien Héon, Director of Political Affairs for Cassidian Cyber Security, EADS

Former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates signs copies of his memoirs at the South Post Exchange, Jan. 27, 2014.

(Photo by Lewis Perkins/Paraglide)

Challenge Coin: CMC Michael Hagee (Version 2)

Challenge Coin: Under SECDEF for Comptroller Tina Jonas

Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper speaks to members of the press during a press conference to discuss the department's efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic at the Pentagon Briefing Room, Washington D.C., March 23, 2020. (DoD photo by Army Staff Sgt. Nicole Mejia)

Defense Secretary Ash Carter lays a wreath during a remembrance ceremony at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Va., Sept. 11, 2015. The ceremony was attended by family members of those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Kelley.

SecDef' 13: Redrawing the security map - Plenary Session I: Transatlantic security: Tactical and strategic challenges - Hüseyin Diriöz, Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning, NATO with Elmar Brok, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committe, European Parliament

18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey joined Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and guests to say farewell to outgoing Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer Robert Hale in the Pentagon Auditorium, July 7, 2014. DoD photo by SSG Sean K. Harp, USA

Challenge Coin: Under SECDEF for Policy

Former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates signs copies of his memoirs at the South Post Exchange, Jan. 27, 2014.

(Photo by Lewis Perkins/Paraglide)

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan and U.S. Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer (center) listen as Vietnam’s Minister of Defense Ngô Xuân Lịch delivers remarks during a bilateral at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore, June 1, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan meets with Belgian Minister of Defence Didier Reynders at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Feb. 21, 2019. (DoD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith)

18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey joined Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to address the media during a press briefing in the Pentagon, Aug. 21, 2014. DoD photo by SSG Sean K. Harp, USA

Gen. William M. Fraser III, the outgoing U.S. Transportation Command commander, stands as his flag is retired during his change of command and retirement ceremony on the parade field of Scott Air Force Base, Ill., May 5, 2014. DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Daniel Hinton

Challenge Coin: POTUS Bush

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan meets with Senators Tammy Duckworth and Angus King at a reception at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue 2019, Singapore, June 1, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Bahrain Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa stand for the playing of the U.S. and Bahrain national anthems prior to a bilateral exchange at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., July 17, 2025. (DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Madelyn Keech)

A World War II veteran holds his hat during the Normandy American Cemetery ceremony, Colleville-sur-Mer, France, June 6, 2025. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza)

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan meets with the commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, at the Indonesian National Military Headquarters, Jakarta, Indonesia, May 30, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan and Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer speak with reporters at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue 2019, Singapore, June 1, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth tours Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin (CG 65) in Panama City, Panama, April 9, 2025. (DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Madelyn Keech)

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan says parting greetings as he departs Jakarta, Indonesia, May 30, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

Framed photographs of past commanders adorn the wall at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, seen during a visit of U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan, Hawaii, May 28, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan attends the Army-Navy football game Dec. 9, 2017, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The Army Black Knights beat the Navy Midshipmen 14-13. (DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brigitte N. Brantley)

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan attends a ministerial discussion and lunch, at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore, June 1, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

Chief of Naval Operations James Richardson attends the Army-Navy football game Dec. 9, 2017, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The Army Black Knights beat the Navy Midshipmen 14-13. (DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brigitte N. Brantley)

Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) David L. Norquist, and Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provide testimony on the DOD posture and fiscal year 2019 budget request to the Senate Armed Services Committee at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington D.C. April. 26, 2018. DoD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Dominique A. Pineiro

U.S. Acting Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Charles E. Summers, Jr., speaks to reporters during an off the record gaggle at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Jan. 3, 2019. (DoD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith)

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan meets with Australian Minister for Defense Linda Reynolds and Japan’s Minister of Defense Takeshi Iwaya, at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore, June 1, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo speaks during the meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS at the U.S. State Department, Washington, D.C., Feb. 6, 2019. (DoD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith)