Obama nominates chiefs for policy, readiness, acquisition

President Barack Obama announced nominees Jan. 24 to fill several senior Defense Department positions for key management areas.

Erin Conaton is the nominee to be undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. She has been the undersecretary of the Air Force since 2010.

The undersecretary is a senior policy advisor to the defense secretary on recruitment, career development, pay and benefits for active duty military personnel, including Guard and Reserve personnel, and DOD civilians employees. The undersecretary is also responsible for overseeing the state of military readiness.

Frank Kendall is the nominee to be the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. He has been the acting undersecretary since the former undersecretary Ashton Carter became the deputy defense secretary in 2011.

The undersecretary advises the defense secretary on all things DOD acquisition. He also supervises procurements and issues policies on the maintenance and upkeep of DOD's technology. The undersecretary also works on the upkeep of the defense industrial base through policies.

James Miller is the nominee to be the undersecretary of defense for policy. Miller has been the principle deputy undersecretary of defense for policy since 2009.

The undersecretary gives the defense secretary advice on new policies that align with national security objectives.

Each of the nominees must be confirmed by the Senate before taking the job.