New Secretary of Defense

General "Mad Dog" Mattis has resigned as Secretary of Defense. Patrick M. Shanahan is serving as the acting Defense Secretary publishing a memorandum on his first day in this position stating “As acting secretary of defense, I now look forward to working with President Trump to carry out his vision alongside strong leaders including the service secretaries, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the combatant commanders, and senior personnel in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.” Additionally, Shanahan stated “We have deep respect for Secretary Mattis’ lifetime of service, and it has been a privilege to serve as his deputy secretary.”

Mattis resigned on December 20th, shortly after Trump unexpectedly announced that the United States would withdraw its forces from Syria. The former Marine Corps General’s resignation letter cited policy disagreements with the president, who has since doubled down on his decision to withdraw American troops from Syria but now is stating that it would be a controlled, safe withdrawal and troops in Iraq along with air power could re-engage ISIS if necessary. Mattis initially planned to resign at the end of February to allow Trump time to find a replacement. Trump, however, announced that Mattis would leave months earlier, on January 1st. Mattis stated that the "President deserves as Sec Def who views are more closely aligned with the President."

Secretary Mattis' short farewell letter to DoD personnel offers steadying advice amid looming uncertainty over troop numbers in Syria and Afghanistan: “Let nothing which is transpiring, change, hinder, or delay your military movements, or plans," he wrote, quoting a telegram President Abraham Lincoln sent to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in February 1865...... “Our Department’s leadership, civilian and military, remains in the best possible hands. I am confident that each of you remains undistracted from our sworn mission to support and defend the Constitution while protecting our way of life. Our Department is proven to be at its best when the times are most difficult. It has been my high honor to serve at your side. May God hold you safe in the air, on land, and at sea.”

Secretary Shanahan had been serving as the Deputy Secretary of Defense since July 19, 2017. Shanahan has not served in the military, instead earning under graduate and graduate degrees in mechanical engineering, and a Masters degree in mechanical engineering from MIT and a Masters in Business Administration from MIT Sloan School of Management. He worked for Boeing, notably as vice president and general manager for Boeing Rotorcraft Systems in Philadelphia where he was responsible for all U.S. Army Aviation programs and site activities in Philadelphia and Mesa, Arizona including the V-22 Osprey, CH-47 Chinook, and the AH-64D Apache programs.