November 24, 2014

On Nov. 24, President Obama announced Chuck Hagel will step down as Secretary of Defense.   

A nominee to replace him has not yet been announced.  

Hagel is a former infantryman and the first person of enlisted rank to lead the Defense Department.  

He volunteered to serve in the Army from 1967-1968 and was awarded two Purple Hearts for wounds incurred in Vietnam.  

He served in the Reagan Administration as Deputy Administrator of the VA.   

Serving as a Republican senator from Nebraska from 1997 to 2009, Hagel teamed with Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) in 2007 sponsoring MOAA-endorsed legislation to put statutory caps on TRICARE fee increases.   

As Secretary of Defense, Hagel was asked to carry out the difficult task of cutting the defense budget while maintaining military operations around the globe.   

He made considerable efforts to engage personally with military and veteran service organizations – regularly hosting roundtable discussions with association leaders.  

“MOAA thanks Secretary Hagel for his service to our nation and his relentless effort to engage in productive dialog with the military and veteran community. We recognize in many ways his hands are tied by the arbitrary cuts of sequestration, but Mr. Hagel strove to work together despite the difficult circumstance,” said MOAA President Vice Adm. Norb Ryan, USN (Ret).  

The next defense secretary faces several difficult tasks. The across-the-board cuts of sequestration return in 2016 and threaten to gut the defense budget while operations continue in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.