By M. Bilal Kenasari
WASHINGTON
Ashton Carter was sworn in Tuesday as the U.S.'s new Secretary of Defense.
Carter, 60, who replaced Chuck Hagel and became President Barack Obama's fourth defense chief in the past six years, released a message to all U.S. troops and civilian employees in his department.
"I am grateful to follow in the footsteps of Secretary Hagel, one of our nation's most honorable and conscientious public servants," Carter said.
"We must steer through the turmoil of sequestration" which causes "wasteful uncertainty" for American citizens, Carter said referring to automatic federal government spending cuts that took effect in 2013.
"To win support from our fellow citizens for the resources we need, we must show that we can make better use of every taxpayer dollar,” he said.
Carter vowed to work to help resolve the "continuing turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa,” and to fight against “the malignant and savage terrorism emanating from it."
Among his top priorities will be addressing “tensions in the Asia-Pacific; the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and intensifying threats in cyberspace," he said.
The new defense secretary, who has served 11 former secretaries of defense in Democratic and Republican administrations said, "We must be open to change in order to operate effectively in an increasingly dynamic world; to keep pace with advances in technology; and to attract new generations of talented and dedicated Americans to our calling."
As a physicist, Carter served as the Pentagon’s number two from 2011 to 2013, and was the head of acquisitions for more than two years from April 2009 to October 2011.
He earned a bachelor’s degrees in physics and medieval history from Yale University, and a doctorate in theoretical physics from Oxford University.
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