Melvin Laird
Melvin Laird is an American politician and the current Secretary of Defense in the administration of President Richard Nixon.
In-game Biography
Melvin Laird is a respected congressman from Wisconsin, having served in Congress since 1953 as a member of the House Appropriations Committee specializing in defense budget and procurement issues. Though well-versed in defense affairs - advocating for a gradual reorientation of American force structure to support a defensive posture with OFN allies - Laird continually fights to defend his portfolio against Nixon's Secretary of the Treasury, Robert McNamara, who pushes for a more statistical and results-driven approach to a more assertive defense policy.
Finding his own position in question in the Nixon administration and with his talents increasingly used purely for Congressional affairs, Laird has expressed his desire to run again for the House of Representatives in 1964, potentially setting up a race to succeed him in the Nixon Administration.
Trivia
Melvin Laird was the Secretary of Defense of Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973. He is the creator of the concept of Vietnamization, a policy aimed at replacing American troops fighting in Vietnam by Vietnamese soldiers.