United States Under Secretary of the Navy
| United States Under Secretary of the Navy | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the Department of the Navy | |
 Flag of the Under Secretary | |
| Department of the Navy | |
| Style | Mr. Under Secretary The Honorable |
| Abbreviation | UNSECNAV |
| Reports to | Secretary of the Navy |
| Seat | The Pentagon |
| Nominator | The president with Senate advice and consent |
| Constituting instrument | 10 U.S.C. § 8015 |
| Formation | August 22, 1940 |
| First holder | James Forrestal |
| Succession | 17th in SecDef succession |
| Deputy | Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy |
| Salary | Executive Schedule, Level III[1] |
| Website | Official website |
The United States under secretary of the navy is the second-highest ranking civilian official in the United States Department of the Navy.[2]
Hung Cao is the 35th and current under secretary of the Navy, in position since October 2025.[3]
Duties
The main duties of the under secretary are:
- Help run the Navy and Marine Corps – Assists the Secretary of the Navy in managing both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.
- Manages daily operations – Oversees the day-to-day business, making sure the Navy and Marine Corps run smoothly.
- Handle budgets and resources – Helps plan and manage the Navy’s and Marine Corps’ spending, including ships, aircraft, and bases.
- Develop policies – Helps create and carry out policies on training, readiness, and personnel.
- Supervise major programs – Oversees big projects like shipbuilding, research, and new technology development.
- Work with Congress – Helps explain Navy and Marine Corps needs to Congress and supports budget requests.
- Act as Secretary when needed – Serves as the Acting Secretary of the Navy if the Secretary is absent or the position is vacant.
- Coordinate with other defense leaders – Works with other Department of Defense and government officials on national defense matters.
- Focuses on readiness and modernization: Works on improving training, equipment, and technology to keep forces ready for action.
- Focus on efficiency – Looks for ways to save money, reduce waste, and improve performance in Navy and Marine Corps operations.[4]
List of under secretaries
| No. | Portrait | Name | Assumed office | Left office | President appointed by | Secretary served under |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
James V. Forrestal | August 22, 1940 | May 16, 1944 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Frank Knox |
| 2 |  |
Ralph A. Bard | June 24, 1944 | June 30, 1945 | James Forrestal | |
| 3 |  |
Artemus Gates | July 3, 1945 | December 31, 1945 | Harry S. Truman | |
| 4 |  |
John L. Sullivan | June 17, 1946 | September 18, 1947 | ||
| 5 |  |
W. John Kenney | September 19, 1947 | September 24, 1949 | John L. Sullivan | |
| 6 |  |
Dan A. Kimball | May 25, 1949 | July 31, 1951 | Francis P. Matthews | |
| 7 | |
Francis P. Whitehair | August 7, 1951 | January 29, 1953 | Dan A. Kimball | |
| 8 |  |
Charles S. Thomas | February 9, 1953 | August 5, 1953 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Robert B. Anderson |
| 9 |  |
Thomas S. Gates Jr. | October 7, 1953 | April 1, 1957 | Robert B. Anderson
Charles Thomas | |
| 10 |  |
William B. Franke | April 17, 1957 | June 7, 1959 | Thomas S. Gates Jr. | |
| 11 |  |
Fred A. Bantz | June 8, 1959 | January 20, 1961 | William B. Franke | |
| 12 |  |
Paul B. Fay | February 16, 1961 | January 15, 1965 | John F. Kennedy | John Connally
Fred Korth Paul Nitze |
| 13 |  |
Kenneth E. BeLieu | February 26, 1965 | July 1, 1965 | Lyndon B. Johnson | Paul Nitze |
| 14 | |
Robert H. B. Baldwin | July 2, 1965 | July 31, 1967 | ||
| 15 | |
Charles F. Baird | August 1, 1967 | January 20, 1969 | Paul Robert Ignatius | |
| 16 | .jpg) |
John Warner | February 11, 1969 | May 4, 1972 | Richard Nixon | John Chafee |
| 17 | |
Frank P. Sanders | May 5, 1972 | June 29, 1973 | John Warner | |
| 18 |  |
J. William Middendorf | August 3, 1973 | June 20, 1974 | ||
| 19 | |
David S. Potter | August 28, 1974 | April 1, 1976 | Gerald Ford | J. William Middendorf |
| 20 | |
David R. Macdonald | September 14, 1976 | February 4, 1977 | ||
| 21 |  |
R. James Woolsey Jr. | March 9, 1977 | December 7, 1979 | Jimmy Carter | W. Graham Claytor Jr. |
| 22 | |
Robert J. Murray | February 7, 1980 | September 29, 1981 | Edward Hidalgo
John Lehman | |
| 23 | |
James F. Goodrich | September 29, 1981 | August 6, 1987 | Ronald Reagan | John Lehman |
| 24 |  |
Henry L. Garrett III | August 6, 1987 | May 15, 1989 | Jim Webb
William L. Ball | |
| 25 | .jpg) |
J. Daniel Howard | August 7, 1989 | January 20, 1993 | George H. W. Bush | Henry L. Garrett III |
| 26 |  |
Richard J. Danzig | November 29, 1993 | May 30, 1997 | Bill Clinton | John Howard Dalton |
| 27 |  |
Jerry MacArthur Hultin | November 13, 1997 | July 14, 2000 | John Howard Dalton
Richard Danzig | |
| 28 |  |
Robert B. Pirie Jr. | October 12, 2000 | June 6, 2001 | Richard Danzig | |
| 29 |  |
Susan M. Livingstone | July 26, 2001 | February 28, 2003 | George W. Bush | Gordon R. England |
| 30 |  |
Dionel M. Aviles | October 8, 2004 | May 19, 2009[5] | Gordon R. England
Donald C. Winter | |
| 31 |  |
Robert O. Work | May 19, 2009 | March 22, 2013 | Barack Obama | Ray Mabus |
| – | |
Robert C. Martinage (acting) | March 22, 2013[6] | January 15, 2014[7] | ||
| – |  |
Thomas W. Hicks (acting) | January 15, 2014 | March 17, 2016 | ||
| 32 | .jpg) |
Janine A. Davidson | March 17, 2016 | January 20, 2017 | ||
| – | |
Thomas W. Hicks (acting) | January 20, 2017[8] | February 17, 2017 | Donald Trump | Sean Stackley (acting) |
| – | .jpg) |
Thomas P. Dee (acting) | February 17, 2017[9] | December 4, 2017 | Richard V. Spencer | |
| 33 | .jpg) |
Thomas B. Modly | December 4, 2017 | April 7, 2020[10][11]
Serving as Acting Secretary of the Navy: November 24, 2019 – April 7, 2020 | ||
| – | .jpg) |
Gregory J. Slavonic (acting) | April 24, 2020 | January 20, 2021 | James E. McPherson (acting) | |
| – | _(cropped).jpg) |
James F. Geurts (acting) | February 4, 2021 | August 24, 2021 | Joe Biden | Thomas Harker (acting) |
| – |  |
Meredith A. Berger
(Performing the Duties of) |
August 25, 2021 | April 13, 2022 | Carlos Del Toro | |
| 34 |  |
Erik Raven | April 13, 2022 | August 2024 | ||
| – |  |
Thomas Mancinelli (acting) | August 20, 2024[12] | January 20, 2025 | ||
| – |  |
Victor Minella (acting) | January 22, 2025 | April 16, 2025 | Donald Trump | Terence G. Emmert (acting) |
| – |  |
Brett A. Seidle (acting) | April 16, 2025 | October 3, 2025 | John Phelan | |
| 35 |  |
Hung Cao | October 3, 2025[13] | Incumbent | ||
References
- ↑ 5 U.S.C. § 5315
- ↑ "U.S. Office of Personnel Management - www.OPM.gov". U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
- ↑ "Under Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao". United States Navy. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
- ↑ "Undersecretary". Center for Presidential Transition. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
- ↑ "Undersecretary of Navy resigns to take new job". Stars and Stripes.
- ↑ "Navy says farewell to Under Secretary". 27 March 2013.
- ↑ "Acting Under Secretary of the Navy Martinage Resigns". 15 January 2014.
- ↑ "Acting SECNAV, Other Navy Leaders Announced Following Presidential Inauguration". America's Navy. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ↑ "Navy.mil Leadership Biographies". America's Navy. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ↑ "United States Navy biographies". United States Department of the Navy. November 25, 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ↑ "United States Navy biography (Under Secretary of the Navy)". United States Department of the Navy. November 25, 2019. Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ↑ "Thomas J. Mancinelli".
- ↑ https://www.wric.com/news/virginia-news/hung-cao-confirmed-under-secretary-navy/