I cannot suggest support and stability for the defense budget without at the same time frankly noting that not every defense dollar is spent as well as it should be, the taxpayer cannot comprehend, let alone support, the defense budget when they read of cost overruns, lack of accounting and accountability, needless overhead and the like.

Ashton Carter

Ashton Baldwin "Ash" Carter is a physicist and United States Department of Defense official who was nominated by President Barack Obama on December 5, 2014, to replace Chuck Hagel as the United States Secretary of Defense. He was Deputy Secretary of Defense from October 2011 to December 2013, serving as the DOD’s Chief Operating Officer overseeing more than $600 billion per year and 2.4 million civilian and military personnel, and managing global 24/7 operations. From April 2009 to October 2011, he was Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics with responsibility for procurement of all technology, systems, services, and supplies, bases and infrastructure, energy and environment, and more than $50 billion annually in R&D. Previously, Carter was a senior partner of Global Technology Partners focused on advising investment firms in technology and defense, and an advisor to Goldman Sachs on global affairs. At Harvard’s Kennedy School, he was Professor and Chair of the International Relations, Science, and Security faculty.

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