Assistant Secretary of the Army is a title used to describe various civilian officials in the United States Department of the Army.

Personal flag used by Assistant Secretaries of the Army

Present Assistant Secretaries of the Army

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At present, there are five offices bearing the title of Assistant Secretary of the Army:

The General Counsel of the Army is equivalent in rank to the Assistant Secretaries.

The five Assistant Secretaries and the GC report to and assist the United States Secretary of the Army and the United States Under Secretary of the Army.

By law, the Assistant Secretaries "shall be appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate".[1]

History

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The office of Assistant Secretary of the Army was established at the time of the creation of the United States Department of Defense in 1947, and assumed many of the duties previously carried out by the United States Assistant Secretary of War in the United States Department of War. In February 1950, a second office, Assistant Secretary of the Army (General Management) was added. In May 1952, Assistant Secretary of the Army Earl D. Johnson's office was renamed Assistant Secretary of the Army (Research and Materiel), making Jones the last individual to bear the stand-alone title of Assistant Secretary of the Army. In addition to the current offices bearing the title of Assistant Secretary of the Army, several individuals have held office as some type of Assistant Secretary, as shown below.[2]

Assistant Secretaries of the Army, 1947—1952

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Name Assumed office Left office President appointed by Secretary served under
Gordon Gray September 24, 1947 May 24, 1948 Harry S. Truman Kenneth Claiborne Royall
Tracy Voorhees June 17, 1948 August 21, 1949 Harry S. Truman Kenneth Claiborne Royall, Gordon Gray
Earl D. Johnson May 31, 1950 May 7, 1952 Harry S. Truman Frank Pace

Assistant Secretaries of the Army (General Management), 1950—1953

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Name Assumed office Left office President appointed by Secretary served under
Karl Bendetsen February 2, 1950 May 6, 1952 Harry S. Truman Frank Pace
Francis Shackelford August 26, 1952 20 January 1953 Harry S. Truman Kenneth Claiborne Royall, Gordon Gray

Assistant Secretary of the Army (Research and Materiel), 1952

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Name Assumed office Left office President appointed by Secretary served under
Earl D. Johnson May 7, 1952 October 20, 1952 Harry S. Truman Frank Pace

Assistant Secretary of the Army (Materiel), 1953—1954

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Name Assumed office Left office President appointed by Secretary served under
John Slezak May 4, 1953 February 7, 1954 Dwight D. Eisenhower Robert T. Stevens

Assistant Secretaries of the Army (Civil-Military Affairs), 1954—1958

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Name Assumed office Left office President appointed by Secretary served under
George H. Roderick August 26, 1954 February 29, 1957 Dwight D. Eisenhower Robert T. Stevens, Wilber M. Brucker
Dewey Jackson Short March 15, 1957 November 1958 Dwight D. Eisenhower Wilber M. Brucker

References

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  1. ^ 10 U.S.C. § 3016(a)
  2. ^ "James E. Hewes, Jr., From Root to McNamara: Army Organization and Administration (1975), pp. 381-382". Archived from the original on 2017-01-23. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
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