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United States Secretary of the Army
Flag of the United States Secretary of the Army.svg
Flag of the Secretary
Seal of the US Department of the Army.svg
Seal of the Department
Ryan McCarthy-Acting Secretary of the Army (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Ryan McCarthy
since July 23, 2019
United States Department of the Army
Style Mr. Secretary
Reports to Secretary of Defense
Appointer The President
with the advice and consent of the Senate
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
(principal civilian deputy)
Chief of Staff
(military advisor and deputy)
Salary Executive Schedule, level II

The United States Secretary of the Army is a civilian office within the 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. Nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the Secretary of the Army is a non-Cabinet position serving under the Secretary of Defense. This position was created September 18, 1947, when the Department of War became the Department of the Army and made a branch of the new Department of Defense.

Chronological list of Secretaries of the Army

Name Term of Office President(s) served under
Kenneth Claiborne Royall September 18, 1947 - April 27, 1949 Harry S. Truman
Gordon Gray June 20, 1949 - April 12, 1950 Harry S. Truman
Frank Pace April 12, 1950 - January 20, 1953 Harry S. Truman
Robert Ten Broeck Stevens February 4, 1953 - July 21, 1955 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Wilber Marion Brucker July 21, 1955 - January 19, 1961 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Elvis Jacob Stahr, Jr. January 24, 1961 - June 30, 1962 John F. Kennedy
Cyrus Vance July 5, 1962 - January 21, 1964 John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson
Stephen Ailes January 28, 1964 - July 1, 1965 Lyndon B. Johnson
Stanley R. Resor July 2, 1965 - June 30, 1971 Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon
Robert F. Froehlke July 1, 1971 - May 14, 1973 Richard Nixon
Howard H. Callaway May 15, 1973 - July 3, 1975 Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford
Martin R. Hoffmann August 5, 1975 - January 20, 1977 Gerald Ford
Clifford L. Alexander, Jr. February 14, 1977 - January 20, 1981 Jimmy Carter
John O. Marsh, Jr. January 21, 1981 - August 13, 1989 Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush
Michael P.W. Stone August 14, 1989 - January 20, 1993 George H. W. Bush
Togo D. West, Jr. November 22, 1993 - December 2, 1997 Bill Clinton
Robert M. Walker December 2, 1997 - July 2, 1998 Bill Clinton
Louis Caldera July 2, 1998 - January 20, 2001 Bill Clinton
Gregory R. Dahlberg January 20, 2001 - March 5, 2001 George W. Bush
Joseph W. Westphal March 5, 2001 - May 31, 2001 George W. Bush
Thomas E. White May 31, 2001 - May 9, 2003 George W. Bush
Les Brownlee May 10, 2003 - November 18, 2004 George W. Bush
Francis J. Harvey November 19, 2004 - March 9, 2007 George W. Bush
Pete Geren March 9, 2007 - September 16, 2009 George W. Bush, Barack Obama
John McHugh September 21, 2009 - November 1, 2015 Barack Obama
Eric Fanning November 3, 2015 - January 11, 2016 Barack Obama
Patrick Murphy January 11, 2016 - January 20, 2017 Barack Obama
Robert M. Speer January 20, 2017 - August 2, 2017 Donald Trump
Ryan McCarthy (acting) August 2, 2017 - November 15, 2017 Donald Trump
Mark Esper November 20, 2017 - July 23, 2019 Donald Trump
Ryan McCarthy Since July 23, 2019 Donald Trump
United States Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army
Cabinet-level
Knox • Pickering • McHenry • Dexter • Dearborn • Eustis • Armstrong • Monroe • W. H. Crawford • Calhoun • Barbour • P. B. Porter • Eaton • Cass • Poinsett • Bell • Spencer • J. M. Porter • Wilkins • Marcy • G. W. Crawford • Conrad • J. Davis • Floyd • Holt • S. Cameron • Stanton • Schofield • Rawlins • Belknap • A. Taft • J. Cameron • McCrary • Ramsey • Lincoln • Endicott • Proctor • Elkins • Lamont • Alger • Root • W. H. Taft • Wright • Dickinson • Stimson • Garrison • Baker • Weeks • D. F. Davis • Good • Hurley • Dern • Woodring • Stimson • Patterson • Royall
Emblem of the Department of War
Flag of the Secretary of the Army
Dept. of Defense
Royall • Gray • Pace • Stevens • Brucker • Stahr • Vance • Ailes • Resor • Froehlke • Callaway • Hoffmann • Alexander • Marsh • Stone • Shannon  • Sullivan  • West • Walker • Caldera • Dahlberg • Westphal • White • Brownlee • Harvey • Geren • McHugh • Fanning • Murphy

Images for kids

  • Organization of the Department of the Army Headquarters

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

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