I ran across an article yesterday from the Military Times profiling potential replacements for Mattis. It includes Patrick Shanahan, who is soon to be acting SecDef. Had a big hand in Space Force. Excerpt and link below:
Who will Trump tap to replace Mattis? ...snip
Patrick Shanahan
Shanahan, the deputy secretary of defense, serves as Mattis’ number two and will likely play a key role in the transition to the next Pentagon administration.
He’s a longtime Boeing executive with experience in both the military and commercial sides of the company. Shanahan had no government experience prior to taking his current job, and has focused almost exclusively on internal reforms while in the building...snip
Thanks, greeneyes for the info on the new acting Sec Def!