SECDEF; the nearly impossible job of Secretary of Defense
Stevenson (Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins U.) profiles ten Secretaries of Defense, assessing their relative successes in implementing their agendas and characterizing their administrative styles. He characterizes McNamara, Schlesinger, Weinberger, and Rumsfeld as “Revolutionaries;” Laird, Aspin, and Cohen as “Firefighters;” and Brown, Cheney, and Perry as “Team Players.” In addition to the profiles, he analyzes the major roles played by the Secretary of Defence in the US government, providing separate chapters on the Secretary as: manager of the Pentagon, war planner, diplomat, and National Security Council adviser.