Ash Carter

As defense secretary, he oversaw the military campaign against ISIL and created a new cyber strategy.

[Secretary of Defense Ash Carter](https://www.axios.com/2021/10/06/secretaries-defense-debt-ceiling) died Monday after suffering a heart attack, the dean of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government said in a statement. What they're saying: "The United States and the world know Ash Carter for his lifelong efforts to serve this country, to defend the best values of this country, and to build a safer world for all people," Elmendorf said in a statement.

Carter, a native of Philadelphia, served in the top Defense Department role under President Barack Obama from 2015 to 2017. He also served in a variety of other ...

At Carter’s swearing-in ceremony in 2015, he said the Pentagon had to “think outside this five-sided box,” a dig at the Pentagon’s plodding weapons development process. Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. Since 2017, Carter had worked as director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School. [Carter](https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2016/09/29/ash-carter-u-s-will-sharpen-military-edge-in-asia/), a native of Philadelphia, served in the top Defense Department role under President Barack Obama from 2015 to 2017. The decision came after years of study by military leaders and strong opposition from conservative groups. [Ash Carter](https://www.militarytimes.com/2016/06/09/the-4-big-takeaways-from-ash-carter-s-new-push-for-military-personnel-reform/) died Monday evening after a heart attack, according to a family statement.

In December 2015, after three years of study and debate, Carter ordered the military to open all jobs to women. He also ended the Pentagon's ban on ...

"Our mission is to defend this country, and we don't want barriers unrelated to a person's qualification to serve preventing us from recruiting or retaining the soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine who can best accomplish the mission." Before Carter was named the Defense Department secretary, he served in President Barack Obama's administration as its top procurement officer and oversaw the department's effort to speed more than 24,000 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to Iraq and Afghanistan. Carter had served as director of the school's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

He lifted a ban on transgender people serving in the military and opened up all roles to women.

In so doing, Mr Carter overrode a request by the Marine Corps to exempt women from certain roles, including in infantry and machine gunnery. Mr Carter made other significant changes to the Department of Defense (DoD), such as opening all military occupations to women without exception for the first time. "His sudden loss will be felt by all who knew him."

A message from Dean Douglas Elmendorf To Harvard Kennedy School's Faculty, Students, Staff, and Fellows, It is with deep and profound sorrow that I write to ...

My heart goes out to Ash’s wife Stephanie and to all of Ash’s family. For my part, I want to offer my gratitude for his insight and wisdom, his unwavering commitment to trying to make the world better, his confidence that the Kennedy School can make an important difference in the world, his generous spirit toward his students and colleagues, and his warm and gracious friendship with me. From 2010 to 2017, he served successively as undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics; deputy secretary of defense; and secretary of defense. He devoted significant attention to investments in technology, including the creation of tech hubs to connect the military with private-sector technology experts. For example, he and Frank Doyle, the dean of Harvard’s Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, hosted a regular gathering of faculty and others across Boston who think deeply about technology and society. He taught numerous courses, mentored many future leaders, and helped to develop our concentration in International and Global Affairs.