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The Secretary of Defense was a United States cabinet member and the head of the Department of Defense.
Notable Secretaries of Defense[]
| Picture | Name | Served during | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson | Vanishing Point | Alive | |
| In Vanishing Point, Ryan Chappelle called Secretary Thompson for assistance on the Area 51 situation and on reaching the President. | |||
| (name unspecified) | Day 2 | ||
| During Day 2, President David Palmer's Secretary of Defense was one of the cabinet members who voted against removing Palmer from office. | |||
 |
James Heller | Day 4 Day 5 |
Alive |
| James Heller served as Secretary of Defense under Presidents John Keeler and Charles Logan. On Day 4, he was kidnapped by members of Habib Marwan's terrorist cell as part of a vast series of terrorist attacks intended to bring America to its knees; Heller was rescued by his advisor and ex-CTU agent Jack Bauer. On Day 5, Bauer approached Heller with evidence that implicated President Logan in the murder of David Palmer. Heller attempted to force Logan to resign quietly, but the recording was eventually recovered by Christopher Henderson, and Heller drove his car into the water when it became clear that Henderson was using him as a pawn to coerce Jack. It was later discovered that Heller survived the crash and would fully recover. | |||
 |
Ethan Kanin | Day 6 Redemption |
Alive |
| Ethan Kanin served as Secretary of Defense under President Wayne Palmer. He was present in the White House bunker during the attempted assassination of Palmer, and informed Vice President Noah Daniels aboard Air Force Two that he needed to assume Palmer's duties for the time being. | |||