| Post: | Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense |
| Insignia: | Office of the Secretary of Defense identification badge.svg |
| Insigniacaption: | OSD Identification Badge |
| Incumbent: | Lieutenant General Ronald P. Clark, USA |
| Incumbentsince: | ~July 7, 2022 |
| Department: | Office of the Secretary of Defense |
| Type: | Senior military assistant |
| Reports To: | United States Secretary of Defense |
| Seat: | The Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia |
| Appointer: | The President |
| Appointer Qualified: | with Senate advice and consent |
The senior military assistant to the secretary of defense (SMA SecDef)[1] is the highest-ranking commissioned officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The SMA directly reports to the secretary of defense, performing administrative work in the Secretary's name and handles relations between the Secretary and other pertinent government bodies, including the rest of the OSD, Congress and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As a joint duty assignment, the SMA is one of 310 officer positions granted exemption from statutory limits on general officer numbers under .
The SMA holds the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral. They are nominated by the president and must be confirmed by the Senate.
| Senior Military Assistant | Term | Service branch | Secretary of Defense | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | |||||
| ? | Major General Colin Powell | July 1983 | June 1986 | ~ | U.S. Army | Caspar Weinberger | - | ||
| ? | Vice Admiral Donald S. Jones | June 1986 | January 1987 | ~ | U.S. Navy | Caspar Weinberger Frank Carlucci | [2] | ||
| ? | Major General Gordon E. Fornell | January 1987 | September 1988 | ~ | U.S. Air Force | Frank Carlucci | [3] | ||
| ? | Rear Admiral (lower half) William Owens | July 1988 | August 1990 | ~ | U.S. Navy | Frank Carlucci Dick Cheney | [4] | ||
| ? | Rear Admiral (lower half) Thomas J. Lopez | August 1990 | May 1992 | ~ | U.S. Navy | Dick Cheney | [5] | ||
| ? | Major General John P. Jumper | May 1992 | February 1994 | ~ | U.S. Air Force | Les Aspin | [6] [7] | ||
| ? | Major General Paul J. Kern | March 1994 | June 1996 | ~ | U.S. Army | William Perry | [8] [9] | ||
| ? | Major General Randolph W. House | June 1996 | January 1997 | ~ | U.S. Army | William Perry | [10] [11] [12] | ||
| ? | Lieutenant General James L. Jones | January 1997 | May 1999 | ~ | U.S. Marine Corps | William Cohen | [13] [14] [15] | ||
| ? | Vice Admiral Gregory G. Johnson | May 1999 | October 2000 | ~ | U.S. Navy | William Cohen | - | ||
| ? | Rear Admiral (lower half) Deborah Loewer | October 2000 | 2001 | ~ | U.S. Navy | William Cohen | - | ||
| ? | Vice Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani | 2001 | August 2002 | ~ | U.S. Navy | William Cohen Donald Rumsfeld | - | ||
| ? | Lieutenant General Bantz J. Craddock | August 2002 | July 2004 | ~ | U.S. Army | Donald Rumsfeld | - | ||
| ? | Vice Admiral James G. Stavridis | July 2004 | August 2006 | ~ | U.S. Navy | Donald Rumsfeld | - | ||
| ? | Lieutenant General Victor E. Renuart Jr. | August 2006 | February 2007 | ~ | U.S. Air Force | Robert Gates | [16] | ||
| ? | Lieutenant General Peter W. Chiarelli | March 2007 | August 2008 | ~ | U.S. Army | Robert Gates | - | ||
| ? | Lieutenant General David M. Rodriguez | August 2008 | June 2009 | ~ | U.S. Army | Robert Gates | - | ||
| ? | Vice Admiral Joseph D. Kernan | June 2009 | April 2011 | ~ | U.S. Navy | Robert Gates | - | ||
| ? | Lieutenant General John F. Kelly | April 2011 | August 2012 | ~ | U.S. Marine Corps | Robert Gates Leon Panetta | - | ||
| ? | Lieutenant General Thomas D. Waldhauser | August 2012 | September 2013 | ~ | U.S. Marine Corps | Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel | - | ||
| ? | Lieutenant General Robert B. Abrams | September 2013 | June 24, 2015 | ~ | U.S. Army | Chuck Hagel Ash Carter | - | ||
| ? | Lieutenant General Ronald F. Lewis | June 24, 2015 | November 12, 2015 | U.S. Army | Ash Carter | [17] [18] | |||
| ? | Brigadier General Eric Smith | ~January 7, 2016 | ~June 23, 2017 | ~ | U.S. Marine Corps | Ash Carter Jim Mattis | [19] [20] | ||
| ? | Vice Admiral Craig S. Faller | ~June 23, 2017 | ~September 1, 2018 | ~ | U.S. Navy | Jim Mattis | [21] | ||
| ? | Lieutenant General George W. Smith Jr. | September 1, 2018 | August 12, 2019 | U.S. Marine Corps | Jim Mattis Mark Esper | [22] | |||
| ? | Lieutenant General Bryan P. Fenton | August 12, 2019 | June 3, 2021 | U.S. Army | Mark Esper Lloyd Austin | [23] | |||
| ? | Lieutenant General Randy George | June 3, 2021 | ~July 7, 2022 | U.S. Army | Lloyd Austin | [24] | |||
| ? | Lieutenant General Ronald P. Clark | ~July 7, 2022 | Incumbent | U.S. Army | Lloyd Austin | [25] | |||