Kathleen Hicks Explained

Kathleen Hicks
Office:35th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
President:Joe Biden
Term Start:February 9, 2021
Predecessor:David Norquist
Office1:9th Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
President1:Barack Obama
Term Start1:May 24, 2012
Term End1:July 2, 2013
Predecessor1:James Miller
Successor1:Brian P. McKeon
Birth Name:Kathleen Anne Holland
Birth Date:25 September 1970
Birth Place: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] (born September 25, 1970)[2] [3] is an American civil servant who has served as the United States deputy secretary of defense since 2021. She 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.

Hicks previously served as the principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy during the Obama administration.[4] By 2020, Hicks was an academic and national security advisor working as a senior vice president and director of the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.[5]

Education

Hicks completed a B.A. in history and politics at Mount Holyoke College in 1991, where she graduated with magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa honors. In 1993, she earned an M.P.A. in national security studies at University of Maryland, College Park.[6] Hicks completed a Ph.D. in political science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010.[7] Her dissertation was titled Change Agents: Who Leads and Why in the Execution of U.S. National Security Policy. Charles Stewart III was Hicks' doctoral advisor.

Career

From 1993 to 2006, Hicks was a career civil servant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, rising from Presidential Management Fellow to the Senior Executive Service. She was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) from 2006 to 2009, leading a variety of national security research projects.[8]

During the Obama administration in 2009, Hicks was appointed deputy undersecretary of defense for strategy, plans, and forces.[9] In 2012, Hicks was the principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy during the Obama administration.[10] In that role, she was a liaison for the 2010 Quadrennial 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. She was also appointed to the Commission on the National Defense Strategy of the United States. She is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has served on the boards of The Aerospace Corporation and the U.S. Naval Institute,[12] [13] as well as the boards of advisors for the Truman National Security Project and SoldierStrong. 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 the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. In 2020, Hicks led the United States Department of Defense (DoD) agency review team, tasked with reviewing issues related to defense and national security during the presidential transition of Joe Biden.[14]

United States Deputy Secretary of Defense

On December 30, 2020, Hicks was announced as then U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for the United States deputy secretary of defense. She appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee on February 2, 2021.[15] She was confirmed by voice 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 spearheaded Replicator, an initiative initially focused on fielding autonomous systems to help counter China's military.[20] She oversees the military's first commercial space integration strategy,[21] as well as several of the Pentagon's largest missile defense and long-range strike programs.[22] [23] She is also in charge of the military's efforts related to climate 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 countering sexual assault and harassment and preventing suicide.[27] [28] [29]

In April 2023, Hicks was interviewed by comedian Jon Stewart, who confronted her about the military defense budget and spending priorities, and suggested there is too much "waste, fraud, and abuse" within the DoD.[30] According to Military Times, she responded by "conceding past shortcomings in spending priorities but insisting that the current administration has focused more on correcting those issues".[31] The segment generated negative press attention.[32]

In January 2024, Hicks temporarily assumed the functions and duties of the secretary of defense while Lloyd Austin was hospitalized. Hicks performed the role of secretary of defense while vacationing in Puerto Rico, but was left unaware of the reason why for three days.[33] In February 2024, Austin transferred his authority to Hicks while again being hospitalized.[34]

Selected works

Notes and References

  1. Web site: PN79-5 — Kathleen Holland Hicks — Department of Defense . U.S. Congress . 2021-01-21.
  2. Web site: Nominations Before The Senate Armed Services Committee, Second Session, 112th Congress. U.S. Congress. 2013. 2021-02-04.
  3. Web site: Hicks, Kathleen H.. 2020-12-30. Virtual International Authority File.
  4. Book: Department of Defense Key Officials September 1947–December 2020 . 35 . Historical Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense . 2021-01-22.
  5. Web site: Vislocky . Jana . 2021-02-19 . Who's Who in Defense: Kathleen Hicks, Deputy Secretary Of Defense . 2023-08-20 . Breaking Defense . en-US.
  6. Change Agents: Who Leads and Why in the Execution of U.S. National Security Policy. 2010. en. Kathleen H.. Hicks. Ph.D.. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1721.1/59793. 671485930.
  7. Web site: Zimmerman. Leda. May 4, 2020. A forum for female voices in international security. 2020-12-30. MIT News. en.
  8. Web site: Biography: Commission on the National Defense Strategy for the United States. 2020-12-30. Commission on the National Defense Strategy for the United States.
  9. Web site: Rozen. Laura. April 2, 2009. Pentagon appointments. 2020-12-31. Foreign Policy. en-US.
  10. Web site: Sullivan. Kate. Lee. MJ. December 30, 2020. Biden names Kathleen Hicks as first woman deputy defense secretary. 2020-12-30. CNN.
  11. Web site: Seck. Hope Hodge. 2020-12-30. Biden Taps Kathleen Hicks to Be the Pentagon's First Female Deputy SecDef. 2020-12-30. Military.com. en.
  12. News: January 1, 2021 . Biden picks first woman to serve as US deputy defence secretary . . . Bloomberg News.
  13. Web site: Shelbourne . Mallory . Senate Confirms Kathleen Hicks As Deputy Defense Secretary . February 9, 2021 . United States Naval Institute.
  14. Web site: Beinart . Matthew . 2020-11-11 . Biden Announces Transition Team Reviewing Pentagon, Led By CSIS' Kathleen Hicks . 2024-05-20 . Defense Daily . en-US.
  15. Web site: How Kathleen Hicks will approach nukes, shipbuilding and the budget . February 2, 2021 . February 2, 2021 . DefenseNews.
  16. DOD Announces New Deputy Secretary of Defense . February 9, 2021 . U.S. Department of Defense . 2021-02-09.
  17. Web site: Seligman . Lara . December 30, 2020 . Kathleen Hicks is Biden's pick to be first female deputy Defense secretary . 2020-12-30 . . en.
  18. Web site: Hinchliffe . Emma . Goodkind . Nicole . November 12, 2021 . The highest-ranking female official at the Pentagon is used to being the only woman in the room . 2023-08-20 . Fortune . en.
  19. To Win the Next War, the Pentagon Needs Nerds. Will. Knight. May 2, 2022. Wired. Condé Nast. 24479723. 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..
  20. Replicator:
  21. News: Erwin . Sandra . Pentagon looks to commercial space for an edge . . November 27, 2023 . 1046-6940 . 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..
  22. Web site: McLeary . Paul . 2021-02-02 . DepSecDef Will Run Most Missile Defense, Nuke Modernization; SecDef Recused . 2024-05-23 . Breaking Defense . en-US.
  23. Web site: McLeary . Paul . 2021-02-24 . New Hicks Memo Sets Acquisition, Force Posture 2022 Budget Priorities . 2024-05-23 . Breaking Defense . en-US.
  24. News: Liebermann . Oren . Kaufman . Ellie . Senior Pentagon official warns the US military is ‘not ready’ for climate change . . November 20, 2021 . Hicks, the first woman to hold the Pentagon’s number two position, leads the military’s different efforts on climate change..
  25. News: Bender . Bryan . EXCLUSIVE: Hicks to establish ‘workforce council’ . . March 11, 2021.
  26. News: Myers . Meghann . DOD looks to revamp housing, facilities on military installations . Military Times . February 15, 2024.
  27. News: Doornbos . Caitlin . Pentagon reveals plan to address sexual assault and harassment in the military ranks . . September 22, 2021 .
  28. News: Top Pentagon official urges Congress to change military system for sex assault cases . . . July 21, 2021.
  29. News: Vanden Brook . Tom . Alaska's army bases see glimmer of hope after 'horrifically high' suicide rates among soldiers . . June 8, 2023 . 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..
  30. Web site: "That's f**king corruption!": Jon Stewart corners top Pentagon official in epic confrontation . January 30, 2024 . Salon.
  31. Web site: Jon Stewart blasts ‘corruption’ in Pentagon spending priorities . January 30, 2024 . Yahoo News.
  32. Web site: In a second Trump or Biden term, who’d be the next defense chief? . January 30, 2024 . Politico.
  33. News: Bertrand . Natasha . Liebermann . Oren . Britzky . Haley . Liptak . Kevin . Deputy defense secretary was not told Austin had been hospitalized when she assumed his duties . CNN . January 7, 2024.
  34. News: Lloyd Austin hospitalized for a bladder issue; duties transferred to deputy defense secretary . February 12, 2024 . NBC News.

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