Former Defense Secretary Ashton Carter Dead at 68 – Former Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has died at the age of 68 following a “sudden cardiac event,” according to a statement released by his family on Tuesday. “It is with deep and profound sadness that the family of former Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter shares that Secretary Carter passed away Monday evening in Boston,” the family wrote.
Carter, often known as “Ash,” served as the country’s 25th defense secretary under former President Barack Obama from 2015 to 2017, during which time he began the battle against ISIS and expanded combat positions to all women. President Biden, who served as vice president during Carter’s tenure as defense secretary, stated that he “relied on Ash’s fierce intellect and wise counsel to ensure our military’s readiness, technological edge, and obligation” to the troops during Carter’s time in office.
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Biden stated in a statement, “Ash was a leader on all the major national security issues of our times – from nuclear deterrence to proliferation prevention to missile defense to emerging technology challenges to the fight against Al Qaida and ISIS.”
Carter was in the forefront of acquiring as well as developing new technologies for the Department of Defense, establishing the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit in 2015, a small office that serves as the contact between the private tech industry and the military.
“He was relentless in his pursuit of technology solutions for our warfighters, rapidly accelerating delivery of mine resistant vehicles to our troops to protect them from improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Biden said. “His work saved countless lives and limbs.”
Prior to his passing, Carter was the director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, which conducts research, teaches students, and trains professionals in “international security and diplomacy, environmental and resource issues, and science and technology policy.”
“For over 35 years inside government under presidents of both political parties as well as in the private sector, Carter leveraged his extraordinary experience in national security, technology, and innovation to defend the United States and make a better world,” the center said of Carter. “He was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Department’s highest civilian honor, on five separate occasions.”
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Carter is survived by his wife Stephanie and two grown children, Ava and Will. “He was a beloved husband, father, mentor, and friend. His sudden loss will be felt by all who knew him,” his family said. “He believed that his most profound legacy would be the thousands of students he taught with the hope that they would make the world a better and safer place.”
