United States Secretary of the Army

Not to be confused with Chief of Staff of the United States Army.

The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and equipment acquisition, communications and financial management.

United States Secretary of the Army
Seal of the U.S. Department of the Army
Flag of the secretary[1]
Incumbent Mark Averill Acting  since January 20, 2025
United States Department of the Army
Style	Mr. Secretary
Reports to	United States Secretary of Defense
Appointer	President of the United States with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Precursor	Secretary of War
Formation	September 18, 1947
First holder	Kenneth Claiborne Royall
Succession	2nd in SecDef succession
Deputy	Under Secretary of the Army Chief of Staff of the Army
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level II
Website	Official website

The secretary of the Army is nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. The secretary is a non-Cabinet-level official, subordinate to the secretary of Defense.^[2] This position was created on September 18, 1947, replacing the secretary of war, when the Department of War was split into the Department of the Army and Department of the Air Force.^[3]

On January 20, 2025, Mark Averill was appointed Acting Secretary until Daniel P. Driscoll, the nominee for Secretary, is confirmed.^[4]

Roles and responsibilities

The Army senior leadership consists of two civilians; the secretary of the Army and the 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.

The secretary of the Army (10 U.S.C. § 7013) 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]

Office of the Secretary of the Army

The Office of the Secretary of the Army is composed of the under secretary of the Army, the assistant secretaries of the Army, the administrative assistant to the secretary, 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 1,900 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

Each civilian has a military counterpart, as shown in the diagram below. Thus, for example, the Army G-1 has a defined responsibility to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), the ASA (M&RA).

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

Chronological list of secretaries of the Army

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.^[3][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	Start	End	President(s)
1		Kenneth Claiborne Royall	September 18, 1947	April 27, 1949		Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
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 (1953–1961)
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 (1961–1963)
7		Cyrus Vance	July 5, 1962	January 21, 1964
						Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
8		Stephen Ailes	January 28, 1964	July 1, 1965
9		Stanley Resor	July 2, 1965	June 30, 1971
						Richard Nixon (1969–1974)
10		Robert Froehlke	July 1, 1971	May 14, 1973
11		Bo Callaway	May 15, 1973	July 3, 1975
						Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
–		Norman R. Augustine Acting[8]	July 3, 1975	August 5, 1975
12		Martin Hoffmann	August 5, 1975	January 20, 1977
13		Clifford Alexander Jr.	February 14, 1977	January 20, 1981		Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
–		Percy A. Pierre Acting[8]	January 21, 1981	January 29, 1981		Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
14		John Marsh	January 30, 1981	August 14, 1989
						George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
15		Michael P. W. Stone	August 14, 1989	January 20, 1993
–		John W. Shannon Acting[9][10]	January 20, 1993	August 26, 1993		Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
–		Gordon R. Sullivan Acting[11][12]	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 (2001–2009)
–		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
						Barack Obama (2009–2017)
21		John M. McHugh	September 21, 2009	November 1, 2015
–		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 (2017–2021)
–		Ryan D. McCarthy Acting	August 2, 2017	November 20, 2017
23		Mark Esper	November 20, 2017 On leave: June 24, 2019 – July 15, 2019[13]	July 23, 2019
–		Ryan D. McCarthy Acting[13]	June 24, 2019	July 15, 2019
24		Ryan D. McCarthy	July 23, 2019	September 30, 2019
			September 30, 2019	January 20, 2021
–		John E. Whitley Acting	January 20, 2021	May 28, 2021		Joe Biden (2021–2025)
25		Christine Wormuth	May 28, 2021	January 20, 2025
–		Mark Averill Acting	January 20, 2025	Incumbent		Donald Trump (2025–present)

References

1. Archived 2010-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
2. "10 U.S. Code § 7013 - Secretary of the Army". Retrieved December 13, 2022.
3. Bell, William Gardner (1992). ""Kenneth Claiborne Royall"". Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army: Portraits and Biographical Sketches. United States Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007.
4. Cai, Sophia; et al. "Trump picks Dan Driscoll for Army secretary". Axios. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
5. "Secretary of the Army". Archived from the original on September 21, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007.
6. "10 U.S. Code § 7014 - Office of the Secretary of the Army". Retrieved December 13, 2022.
7. Bell, William Gardner. ""Intro - Secretaries of War & Secretaries of the Army"". Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army: Portraits & Biographical Sketches. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007.
8. Bell, William Gardner (1992). Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army: Portraits and Biographical Sketches. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History.
9. Schmitt, Eric (August 28, 1993). "Acting Army Secretary, Accused Of Shoplifing, Is Placed on Leave". The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
10. Miller, Bill (September 22, 1993). "Acting Army Secretary Admits Shoplifting". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
11. The Daily Sentinel (Ohio/West Virginia), Acting Army Chief Ticketed for Shoplifting, August 29, 1993
12. U.S. Organization Chart Service, Department of Defense Fact Book, 2006, page 17
13. Dickstein, Corey (June 21, 2019). "Former Ranger McCarthy will take on duties of Army secretary on Monday". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved June 29, 2019. While Esper is serving as acting defense secretary, he will technically retain the title of secretary of the Army, one of the officials said.

External links

• Official website