Defense Secretary, U.s. Troops | featured news

The first Vietnam veteran to be U.S. defense secretary is spending his first overseas trip on the job thanking soldiers and Marines. At about 11 a.m. ET Friday, Hagel touched down in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that abruptly ending the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays as a federal judge has ordered would have enormous consequences.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to leave his post in the spring of 2011, a senior administration source told CNN on Monday.

Perhaps only a “handful” of U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan in 2011, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said.

In a surprising evolution, the secretaries of state and defense have formed an informal partnership in favor of a moderate buildup in American troops.