Kathleen_Hicks--Charles_William_Duncan

Kathleen Anne Holland Hicks (born September 25, 1970) is an American government official 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 currently serving in the United States Department of Defense. Hicks previously served as the principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy during the Obama administration. 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.