United States Secretary of the Army facts for kids

Quick facts for kids United States Secretary of the Army
Flag of the secretary
Seal of the U.S. Department of the Army
Incumbent Christine Wormuth since May 28, 2021
United States Department of the Army
Style	Madam 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

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.

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. 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.

On May 28, 2021, Christine Wormuth was sworn in as the 25th (and current) secretary of the Army, the first woman to serve in the role.

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.

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.

• 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.

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	April 28, 1949 – April 12, 1950
3		Frank Pace	April 12, 1950 – January 20, 1953
–		Earl D. Johnson Acting	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	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
14		Percy A. Pierre Acting	January 21, 1981 – January 29, 1981	Ronald Reagan
15		John O. Marsh Jr.	January 30, 1981 – August 14, 1989	Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush
16		Michael P. W. Stone	August 14, 1989 – January 20, 1993	George H. W. Bush
–		John W. Shannon Acting	January 20, 1993 – August 26, 1993	Bill Clinton
–		Gordon R. Sullivan Acting	August 28, 1993 – November 21, 1993
17		Togo D. West Jr.	November 22, 1993 – May 4, 1997
–		Robert M. Walker Acting	December 2, 1997 – July 1, 1998
18		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	March 5, 2001 – May 31, 2001
19		Thomas E. White	May 31, 2001 – May 9, 2003
–		Les Brownlee Acting	May 10, 2003 – November 18, 2004
20		Francis J. Harvey	November 19, 2004 – March 9, 2007
21		Pete Geren	March 9, 2007 – September 21, 2009	George W. Bush, Barack Obama
22		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
23		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
24		Mark Esper	November 20, 2017 – July 23, 2019
–		Ryan McCarthy Acting	June 24, 2019 – July 15, 2019
25		Ryan McCarthy	July 23, 2019 – January 20, 2021 Acting: July 23, 2019 – September 30, 2019
–		John E. Whitley Acting	January 20, 2021 – May 28, 2021	Joe Biden
26		Christine Wormuth	May 28, 2021 – present

See also

In Spanish: Secretario del Ejército de los Estados Unidos para niños