United States Secretary of the Army

The Army senior leadership consists of two civilians; the Secretary of the Army and the United States Under Secretary of the Army—and two military officers of four-star rank—the Chief of Staff of the United States Army and the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army.

The Secretary of the Army (10 U.S.C. § 3013) is in effect the chief executive officer of the Department of the Army, and the Chief of Staff of the Army works directly for the Secretary. The Secretary presents and justifies Army policies, plans, programs, and budgets to the Secretary of Defense, other executive branch officials, and to the Congressional Defense Committees. The Secretary also communicates Army policies, plans, programs, capabilities, and accomplishments to the public. As necessary, the Secretary convenes meetings with the senior leadership of the Army to debate issues, provide direction, and seek advice. The Secretary is a member of the Defense Acquisition Board.

The Secretary of the Army has several responsibilities under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including the authority to convene general courts-martial.[5]

The Office of the Secretary of the Army is composed of the Under Secretary of the Army, the Assistant Secretaries of the Army, the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, the General Counsel of the Department of the Army, the Inspector General of the Army, the Chief of Legislation, and the Army Reserve Forces Policy Committee. Other offices may be established by law or by the Secretary of the Army. No more than 1,865 Army officers on the active-duty list may be assigned or detailed to permanent duty in the Office of the Secretary of the Army and on the Army staff.[6]

• Under Secretary of the Army
  • Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology)
  • Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works)
  • Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller)
  • Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy and Environment)
  • Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)
  • General Counsel of the Army
  • Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army
  • Inspector General of the Army

Chart showing the organization of the Office of the Secretary of Army and its relationship to the Army Staff.

Kenneth Claiborne Royall, the last secretary of war, became the first Secretary of the Army when the National Defense Act of 1947 took effect. Gordon Gray was the last Army Secretary to hold the Cabinet status, which was henceforth assigned to the Secretary of Defense.[4][7]

Prior military service is not a requirement, but several have served in the United States armed forces. Secretary Stone (1989-1993) is the only holder to serve in the military outside of the United States.

No.	Image	Name	Term of office	President(s) served under
1		Kenneth Claiborne Royall	September 18, 1947 – April 27, 1949	Harry S. Truman
2		Gordon Gray[8]	April 28, 1949 – April 12, 1950
3		Frank Pace	April 12, 1950 – January 20, 1953
–		Earl D. Johnson Acting[8]	January 20, 1953 – February 4, 1953	Dwight D. Eisenhower
4		Robert T. Stevens	February 4, 1953 – July 21, 1955
5		Wilber M. Brucker	July 21, 1955 – January 19, 1961
6		Elvis Jacob Stahr Jr.	January 24, 1961 – June 30, 1962	John F. Kennedy
7		Cyrus Roberts Vance	July 5, 1962 – January 21, 1964	John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson
8		Stephen Ailes	January 28, 1964 – July 1, 1965	Lyndon B. Johnson
9		Stanley R. Resor	July 2, 1965 – June 30, 1971	Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon
10		Robert F. Froehlke	July 1, 1971 – May 14, 1973	Richard Nixon
11		Howard H. Callaway	May 15, 1973 – July 3, 1975	Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford
–		Norman R. Augustine Acting[8]	July 3, 1975 – August 5, 1975	Gerald Ford
12		Martin R. Hoffmann	August 5, 1975 – January 20, 1977
13		Clifford Alexander Jr.	February 14, 1977 – January 20, 1981	Jimmy Carter
–		Percy A. Pierre Acting[8]	January 21, 1981 – January 29, 1981
14		John O. Marsh Jr.	January 30, 1981 – August 14, 1989	Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush
15		Michael P. W. Stone	August 14, 1989 – January 20, 1993	George H. W. Bush
–		John W. Shannon Acting[9]	January 20, 1993 – August 26, 1993	Bill Clinton
–		Gordon R. Sullivan Acting[10][11]	August 28, 1993 – November 21, 1993
16		Togo D. West Jr.	November 22, 1993 – May 4, 1997
–		Robert M. Walker Acting[8]	December 2, 1997 – July 1, 1998
17		Louis Caldera	July 2, 1998 – January 20, 2001
–		Gregory R. Dahlberg Acting	January 20, 2001 – March 4, 2001	George W. Bush
–		Joseph W. Westphal Acting[8]	March 5, 2001 – May 31, 2001
18		Thomas E. White	May 31, 2001 – May 9, 2003
–		Les Brownlee Acting	May 10, 2003 – November 18, 2004
19		Francis J. Harvey	November 19, 2004 – March 9, 2007
20		Pete Geren	March 9, 2007 – September 21, 2009	George W. Bush, Barack Obama
21		John M. McHugh	September 21, 2009 – November 1, 2015	Barack Obama
–		Eric Fanning Acting	November 3, 2015 – January 11, 2016
–		Patrick Murphy Acting	January 11, 2016 – May 17, 2016
22		Eric Fanning	May 17, 2016 – January 20, 2017
–		Robert Speer Acting	January 20, 2017 – August 2, 2017	Donald Trump
–		Ryan McCarthy Acting	August 2, 2017 – November 20, 2017
23		Mark Esper	November 20, 2017 – July 23, 2019[12]
–		Ryan McCarthy Acting	June 24, 2019 – July 15, 2019
24		Ryan McCarthy	July 23, 2019 – January 20, 2021 Acting: July 23, 2019 – September 30, 2019
–		John E. Whitley Acting	January 20, 2021 – present	Joe Biden

• Official website