Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
United States government official
The assistant secretary of defense for health affairs (ASD(HA)) is chartered under United States Department of Defense Directive (DoDD) 5136.1 in 1994. This DoDD states that the ASD(HA) is the principal advisor to the secretary of defense on all "DoD health policies, programs and activities". In addition to exercising oversight of all DoD health resources, ASD(HA) serves as director of the Tricare Management Activity.
The ASD(HA) reports to the undersecretary of defense (personnel and readiness), or USD(P&R). A political appointee responsible for the United States Department of Defense's Military Health System, the ASD(HA) is an Executive Service Level IV official. The assistant secretary is nominated by the president of the United States, and confirmed by the United States Senate.
History
This position was originally established in 1949 as Chairman, Armed Forces Medical Policy Council. Reorganization Plan No. 6 (1953) abolished the council and transferred its functions to a new position, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs). In August 1953, some functions of this position were transferred to Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower), and the title was changed to Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health and Medical).
The public source identifies “Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs” as united States government official. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Assistant, Secretary and Defense.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4808974. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1994, 1949 and 1953.
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This entry incorporates text from “Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.