William James Lynn III[1] (born January 1, 1954)[1][2] is a former United States Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Lynn was born in Key West, Florida and raised in Connecticut, graduating from New Canaan High School in June 1972.

[1][2][3] Lynn was hired by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he served as executive director of the Defense Organization Project from 1982 to 1985.

[4] At some point, he was a senior fellow studying strategic nuclear forces and arms control at the National Defense University's Strategic Concepts Development Center, and went on to be the legislative counsel for defense and arms control matters for Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy between 1987 and 1993.

"We need to keep in mind the importance of not making the system worse in our efforts to achieve reform," he said in testimony prepared for the House Armed Services Committee.

[14] Pentagon leaders began an effort to save about $100 billion over five years to maintain fighting forces and to modernize weapons.

"[15] Lynn warned that in order to get to the $100 billion in savings the Pentagon leaders and the military services will have to identify "lower priority programs" that are not going to be part of future budgets.

Lynn said the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been more difficult than had been expected, but the U.S. military must have enough troops and the right kind of training, equipment and family support for future long conflicts, which he said are still "plausible.

"Bill Lynn has provided outstanding advice and counsel to this department and to the nation over the course of his long career," Leon Panetta said in a statement released on 7 July.