Secretary of State Chuck Hagel stepped down from his post on Monday after two weeks of back-and-forth meetings with President Obama, who reportedly requested Hagel's resignation on Friday.
"Chuck Hagel has been no ordinary secretary of defense," Obama said at a press conference on Monday. "He understands our men and women like few others, because he stood where they stood. He's been in the dirt, and he stood in the mud."
Hagel, a former Republican senator and enlisted soldier, served as Pentagon chief since early 2013. Here's his brief time in that role in photos.