John E. Whitley
John Whitley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Acting United States Secretary of the Army | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Deputy | Christopher Lowman (acting) |
| Preceded by | Ryan D. McCarthy |
| 16th Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller | |
| In office September 26, 2018 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Robert M. Speer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 15, 1970 Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Virginia Tech (BA, BS) University of Chicago (MA, PhD) |
John Euler Whitley (born September 15, 1970) is an American government official and currently serves as the Acting United States Secretary of the Army. He previously serviced as Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) and performed the duties of Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation for the Department of Defense. As the Acting Secretary of the Army, Whitley exercises full chief executive responsibilities for the Department of the Army, including its over one million military personnel, 200,000 civilians, and $180 billion annual budget.[1]
Early life and education
Whitley was born in Florida, but he grew up in Clear Spring, Maryland.[2] He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1996 with a Bachelors of Science in Animal Science and a Bachelors of Arts in Agricultural Economics. He graduated from the University of Chicago with a Masters of Arts and PhD in Economics in 2000.[3]
Career
Whitley served in the United States Army from 1988 until 1992. He served in the Second Ranger Battalion[4] and completed numerous course, including Ranger School, Special Forces Assessment and Selection, and the Special Operations Medical Course.[5]
Upon completing his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago, Whitley served in the economics department of the University of Adelaide in Australia.[4] Following the University of Adelaide, Whitley worked in the Department of Defense (DoD), Office of the Secretary of Defense, Program Analysis and Evaluation (PA&E) as an operations research analyst.[4] At PA&E, Whitley worked on defense resource allocation issues and military healthcare issues.[6] In 2007, Whitley worked in the office of Jon Kyl, former U.S. Senator from Arizona.[6]
Whitley left DoD for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He was the Director of DHS PA&E and the DHS Performance Improvement Officer. In these roles, he led the resource allocation process and the measurement, reporting and improvement of performance. At DHS, Whitley worked on counterterrorism, immigration, cybersecurity and disaster management issues[6].
Following DHS, Whitley has served as a senior fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) in Alexandria, Virginia. At IDA, he led research on resource allocation and performance issues in national security, including military healthcare and border security. He supported the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission on healthcare reform and has testified before Congress on these issues.[6] He also taught as an adjunct professor at the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington University.[5]
On February 1, 2018, President Donald Trump announced Whitley as his appointment for the office of Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller). On September 18, 2018, the United States Senate confirmed his nomination by voice vote. He was sworn in September 26, 2018.[2][7] Whitley served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the U.S. Army, in charge of financial management, audit, and budgetary issue for the $180 billion Army budget .[8]
From August 16, 2019 through March 13, 2020, Whitley was Acting Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) for DoD. He then transitioned to the role of Performing the Duties of the Director of CAPE from March 13, 2020 through May 4, 2020, at which point his role ended.[9] As the Director of CAPE, Whitley served in roles similar to the Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Investment Officer of the DoD.[10] On May 4, 2020, he was nominated to assume this post on a permanent basis.[11] While awaiting confirmation, Whitley served as the Acting Deputy Chief Management Officer of DoD.[12] On January 3, 2021, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.[11]
President Joe Biden appointed Whitley as the Acting Secretary of the Army.[4] As the Acting Secretary of the Army, Whitley functions as the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of the Army, including its over one million military personnel, 200,000 civilians, and $180 billion annual budget.[1] Whitley assumed those duties as well as oversight of 25,000 National Guardsmen stationed in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 2021[13]. On May 5, 2001, Whitley testified to the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee on Army Posture and the Fiscal Year 2022 Army Budget.[14]
Personal life
As of 2020, Whitley lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife and two children.
References
- ^ a b "US Army FY 2021 President's Budget Highlights" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Biography of John E. Whitley". Army Financial Management & Comptroller. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ "John Whitley | IBM Center for The Business of Government". www.businessofgovernment.org. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
- ^ a b c d "Acting Secretary of the Army | The United States Army". Acting Secretary of the Army | The United States Army. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
- ^ a b "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration | The White House". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-11 – via National Archives.
- ^ a b c d "Conversations with authors: John Whitley on Five Actions to Improve Military Hospital Performance". Federal News Network. 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
- ^ "Trump nominations tracker: See which key positions have been filled so far". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
- ^ "Army Financial Management & Comptroller". www.asafm.army.mil. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
- ^ "Department of Defense Key Officials September 1947–December 2020" (PDF). U.S. Department of Defense. 2020-12-01. p. 44. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
- ^ "OSD CAPE". www.cape.osd.mil. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
- ^ a b "PN1725 — John E. Whitley — Department of Defense". U.S. Congress. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
- ^ "MEMORANDUM FOR CHIEF MANAGEMENT OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY (FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND COMPTROLLER)" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Pentagon Briefing on National Guard Stationed in Washington, D.C. | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
- ^ "Fiscal Year 2022 United States Army Budget". House Committee on Appropriations. 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
