United States Under Secretary of the Army

The United States Under Secretary of the Army is the second-highest ranking civilian official of the United States Department of the Army, serving directly under the United States Secretary of the Army. The Secretary and Under Secretary, together with two military officers, the Chief of Staff of the United States Army and the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army, constitute the senior leaders of the United States Army.

The following officials report to the Under Secretary of the Army: the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy and Environment), the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology), the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), and the General Counsel of the United States Army. There are also two Deputy Under Secretaries of the Army who assist the Under Secretary in his tasks.

The current Under Secretary of the Army is Joseph W. Westphal.

History

The office was created in 1947 as part of the general reorganization of the United States Armed Forces occasioned by the National Security Act of 1947. The office was initially styled "Under Secretary of War" and was created by Department of War General Order 67, dated July 25, 1947.^[1] Three weeks later, on August 16, 1947, Department of War Circular 225 redesignated the position as "Under Secretary of the Army".^[2]

List of Under Secretaries of the Army

The following men have held the post:^[3]

References