Voice of America
05 Aug 2022, 06:05 GMT+10
pentagon - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has named a U.S. Air Force brigadier general as the new Pentagon press secretary.
'Today, I named Brigadier General Patrick S. Ryder as the next Pentagon press secretary. Pat will fill a critical role, leading our efforts to provide timely, accurate information to the media, and through the media to the American people,' Austin said in a statement on Thursday.
Ryder currently serves as the top public affairs officer for the Air Force and Space Force. Prior to that he was the top spokesman for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and served as the spokesman for Austin when he was the head of U.S. Central Command from 2013 to 2016.
Ryder will become the first Pentagon press secretary to serve while still in military uniform since then-Rear Admiral John Kirby served under Defense Secretaries Chuck Hagel and Ash Carter from 2013 to 2015.
Upon taking office, Carter made clear to officials that he wanted a nonuniformed spokesman and soon replaced Kirby with a new Pentagon press secretary. Kirby retired from the military in 2015 and has since served as State Department spokesman under the Obama administration and Pentagon press secretary and White House National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications.
The military is an apolitical organization, which could cause potential problems should Ryder be asked to expand upon a political position. Civilians control the military in the United States, with rules established by Congress to ensure that secretaries of defense spend at least seven years out of military uniform before taking office.
Exceptions have been made with congressional approval, however, and lawmakers recently have waived that requirement for former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Austin, the current secretary.
CNN first reported the decision to appoint Ryder on Wednesday.
Get a daily dose of San Jose Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to San Jose Sun.
More InformationEight NBA 2K League teams remain alive for the last two 3v3 Championship berths after the first day of action ...
Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady was excused from Thursday's practice and plans to be away through the weekend for personal ...
Starting quarterbacks are mastering the sideline route this preseason. Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Mac Jones of the Patriots are ...
Chicago Bears wide receiver N'Keal Harry is expected to miss up to eight weeks recovering from surgery to repair a ...
Basketball icon Kobe Bryant and his young daughter died in a helicopter crash in early 2020Vanessa Bryant, the wife of ...
The Pittsburgh Pirates are fresh off a rare win over the Arizona Diamondbacks and now look to gain a split ...
NEW YORK, New York - Stocks closed mixed the world over Thursday as investors struggled to get a clear picture ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: In another frustrating day for U.S. travelers, on the morning of August 9, 153 flights ...
JAKARTA, Indonesia: A senior cabinet minister in Indonesia has told CNBC Indonesia that U.S. carmaker Tesla has signed contracts worth ...
SYDNEY, NSW, 2000 - Stocks in Asia, with the exception of Japan, rallied on Thursday following the release of July ...
LOS ANGELES, California: Since early May, Charlie Hamilton has not irrigated his vineyards with water from the Sacramento River, despite ...
YANGON, Myanmar - Honeys Holdings, a Japanese clothing retailer that manufactures much of its product line in Myanmar, has decided ...