Defense Department

Donald Rumsfeld
Secretary
703-692-7100
On his second tour as Defense Secretary, Rumsfeld has taken on an uphill fight to make good on President Bush's promise to revolutionize the American military. He spent his early months in office getting updated on what has happened to the defense establishment and world threats since he left the same Pentagon office on January 20, 1977. The still-wiry 68-year-old, who is a former wrestler, has an ambitious agenda that ranges from missile defense to financial reforms for the $315 billion-a-year war-making department. But the outlook for success-given congressional, military, and industry resistance-is for slow rather than rapid change. Born in Chicago, Rumsfeld grew up in its Winnetka neighborhood until World War II, when his father's naval career caused the family to move four times to different regions of the country. After graduating from Princeton University in 1954 and serving three years as a Navy aviator, he went to Washington to work for Rep. David Dennison, R-Ohio, at the start of a long and varied political career that took him to Congress and the White House before he arrived at the Pentagon. His high-profile political jobs included being an Illinois Congressman from 1962-69, and serving as White House chief of staff for President Ford, 1974-75. His first Pentagon tour, lasting from 1975-77, was cut short when Ford lost the election. Rumsfeld also made a name for himself, and millions of dollars, in the corporate world, including serving as CEO and then as chairman of G.D. Searle & Co., 1977-85, and the same two top positions with General Instrument Corp., 1990-93. Before returning to government, he split his time between residences in Taos, N.M., and Chicago.

Paul Wolfowitz
Deputy Secretary
703-692-7150
When the Bush Administration sent a small team of high-level officials overseas to try to persuade skeptics in Europe and Russia to embrace a ballistic missile defense system, it came as no surprise that Paul Wolfowitz was leading the mission. Known as a tough and effective negotiator, Wolfowitz, 57, owns one of the most extensive resumes in foreign affairs and national security inside the U.S. government, and he has a reputation as one of the smartest men in the Washington policy-making community. He is also known for holding deeply conservative-some would say hard-line-convictions that are a comfortable fit in Bush's inner circle. Before becoming Rumsfeld's deputy, Wolfowitz spent seven years as dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. "I think Wolfowitz's greatest strength is his unusual breadth of knowledge and experience, and a mathematician's ability to quickly analyze complex problems and offer solutions and perspectives that others might not have thought of," said Steve Szabo, acting dean of SAIS. "He also has the inner cool of a scientist. He never blows up." Before his tenure at SAIS, Wolfowitz served in the key position of undersecretary of Defense for policy, where he helped organize the Desert Storm campaign under then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. Wolfowitz has also served in the State Department as assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs and as U.S. ambassador to Indonesia. Raised in New York, he has a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Cornell University and a doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago.

Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr.
Undersecretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
703-695-2381
The standard by which the Pentagon's "acquisition czar" is judged is quite simple: Put the best weapons and equipment in the hands of every soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine, and do so at the least possible cost. It's a daunting task, indeed, one that requires Baryshnikov-like balance between the ideal and the possible-and a juggling act to keep the handful of remaining defense contractors afloat. But Aldridge, 62, is well prepared. The Houston native has extensive experience in government and the aerospace industry, 17 and 23 years respectively. In the Ford Administration, during Rumsfeld's first stint as Defense Secretary, Aldridge was the Pentagon's director of program analysis and evaluation-essentially, the official second-guesser on whether a weapon was ready for purchase. During the Reagan years, as Air Force undersecretary and later secretary, Aldridge was known as a champion of space programs. After leaving the Pentagon in 1988, he served as president of McDonnell Douglas Electronic Systems Co., and most recently as CEO at the Aerospace Corp. Aldridge received an undergraduate degree in physics from Texas A&M University and a master's in engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Dov S. Zakheim
Undersecretary, Comptroller
703-695-3237
As the chief financial officer for the largest department and the largest budget in the federal government, Zakheim will have direct influence over programs and policies that are worth hundreds of billions of dollars and affect tens of thousands of lives on a daily basis. According to people who know him, Zakheim is well suited to the pressures of that position, both by experience and by temperament. As a former deputy Defense undersecretary for planning and resources during the Reagan Administration, for instance, Zakheim earned a reputation as a troubleshooter willing to tackle tough problems. One of the toughest for Zakheim-an American Orthodox Jew-was leading the Pentagon's campaign to kill Israel's Lavi fighter jet program, which was being funded largely with U.S. military aid. After leaving the Pentagon, Zakheim served on then-Defense Secretary William Cohen's task force on defense reform, and on a Defense Science Board task force looking at the impact of Pentagon acquisition policies on the arms industry. Zakheim also held the job of chief executive officer of SPC International, a defense technology firm. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Zakheim, 52, earned a bachelor's degree in government from Columbia University and a doctorate in economics and politics from Oxford University.

David S.C. Chu
Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness
703-695-5254
Chu began mastering military math 30 years ago, when the young Yale economics graduate served as a logistics officer in Vietnam. He is best-known, however, as an Osprey hunter: As a Pentagon analyst in the 1980s, he repeatedly criticized the Navy-Marine Corps V-22 Osprey aircraft program, which then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney ultimately tried to cancel on Chu's advice. To this day, some Marines curse Chu's name. But his archadversary during the fight over the tilt-rotor Osprey, Reagan Navy Secretary John Lehman, told National Journal: "I had a lot of respect for David.... We often disagreed, [but] I never found David Chu to be biased or pursuing his own agenda." The Osprey battle shows Chu's long association with the Reagan-Bush-Bush team, as well as his analytic intelligence and honesty, and his willingness to step on toes. Some military personnel activists fear that their cherished but costly benefits will face the same cost-efficiency calculus that Chu unleashed on the Osprey. A holder of four degrees from Yale, Chu, 57, grew up in Mount Vernon, N.Y. He has for most of his career alternated between government and the influential RAND think tank, where he most recently headed all Army-related research.

Michael W. Wynne
Deputy Undersecretary (designate) for Acquisition and Technology
703-697-7021
Wynne is not exactly a rocket scientist. For a Bush Administration enamored of Big Business veterans and bent on a massive missile defense program, however, he may be something even better: a rocket executive. And he's been tried by fire. A longtime manager at defense giant General Dynamics, Wynne moved from its tank-making branch in 1991 to take over the troubled space systems division, maker of the venerable Atlas rocket of the 1960s. For the next six years, Wynne held the helm steady through layoffs, relocations, pay freezes, botched launches of both military and commercial satellites, the division's sale to Martin Marietta, Martin's subsequent merger with Lockheed, and the amalgamation of the Atlas program with Lockheed's Titan rocket program. The company competed fiercely during the 1990s with European, Chinese, and Russian launchers-while still negotiating a landmark deal to bring Russia's superior rocket technology to America. In 1997, Wynne went back to General Dynamics but left in 1999 for Ixata Group, an Internet firm in San Diego serving the hotel and travel industries. A Florida native, Wynne, 56, is an Air Force veteran with degrees from West Point, the Air Force Institute of Technology, and the University of Colorado.

Diane K. Morales
Deputy Undersecretary (designate) for Logistics and Material Readiness
703-697-1368
Morales has been here before. As the Pentagon's logistics chief during and after the Persian Gulf War, she oversaw reforms in military supply management and the use of civilian airliners from the Civil Reserve Fleet to help transport troops. But in the 10 years since, her old office has dramatically expanded its responsibilities, and her old position has swollen from a deputy assistant secretary slot to a Senate-confirmable deputy undersecretary job. Some logistics experts fear that Morales, 54, lacks the recent experience and the inclination for radical reform that's required to slap the military's pork-choked system into shape. But Morales did spend the Clinton years as head of a logistics consulting company, DMS Inc. "She's very aggressive, she's very sharp," said one former associate. "She has enough of the technical skills to be able to sort the wheat from the chaff, [and] she certainly has the political connections to make it work." A Texas native and University of Texas graduate, Morales served the Reagan and first Bush Administrations in a variety of posts-at OMB, Interior, and the now-defunct Civil Aeronautics Board. Those jobs gave her strong ties to the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld team. In the worth-noting category: She started out as a buyer for the lavish department store, Nieman-Marcus.

Air Force

James G. Roche
Secretary of the Air Force
703-697-7376
Roche may not be of the President's party-he's a Democrat-but he'll still fit in at the new corporate-style Pentagon. The 61-year-old native of Brooklyn, N.Y., held top management jobs with defense contractor Northrop Grumman for 17 years, most recently serving as the company's electronics division president in the Baltimore area. As part of the Pentagon's corporate makeover, and in contrast to past Administrations, service secretaries in Rumsfeld's Pentagon will be given more clout in weapons-buying decisions. This new role is potentially sticky for Roche, who may have to make tough calls involving products manufactured by his former employer. At his confirmation hearing, he said he would avoid any conflicts of interest, but he does support buying Northrop Grumman products, such as more B-2 stealth bombers. Before joining Northrop Grumman, Roche served 23 years in the Navy; he retired as a captain in 1983. He earned an undergraduate degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology, a degree from the Naval Postgraduate School, and an MBA from the Harvard University School of Business. Roche also saves room for some fun; he likes boating and fast cars. His Ferrari, of course, is red.

Gen. Michael E. Ryan
Air Force Chief of Staff
703-697-9225
Ryan, 58, was tapped to head the Air Force in October 1997, following the abrupt retirement of Gen. Ronald Fogleman. A no-nonsense leader who can surprise colleagues with a sharp sense of humor, Ryan is the first military chief of staff to serve in a post also held by his father. (Gen. Jack Ryan was Air Force chief of staff from 1969-73.) Michael Ryan, a 36-year Air Force veteran, holds some of the military's highest honors, including the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters. He flew more than 100 combat missions over North Vietnam in his F-4, and he has logged 4,000 total flight hours, including some in French-made Mirage jets during a stint as an exchange officer in Australia. From 1994-96, he was commander of Allied Air Forces in Southern Europe. He gained attention there for directing NATO air operations over Bosnia, including air strikes on Serb forces in 1995 that helped bring about the Dayton peace accords. Ryan holds a B.S. from the Air Force Academy and an MBA from Auburn University. Bush will name a new Air Force chief later this year. Army

Thomas E. White
Secretary of the Army
703-695-3211
Seldom has the Army had such a hard-charging, experienced forme r soldier as its civilian overseer. A 1967 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, White knows the Army and the Pentagon inside out from his 27-year career in uniform. He commanded soldiers in the field, including two tours in Vietnam, and led the 11th Cavalry Regiment in Germany from 1986-88. And he served as executive assistant to Gen. Colin L. Powell when Powell was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1990, a brigadier general on the fast track, White surprised colleagues by quitting the Army to join private industry. Most recently, he was vice chairman of Enron Energy Services. A Detroit native, White has a master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School. Now 57, White will be in position to champion reforms that Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, Army chief of staff, has had a hard time selling and financing. White is an activist, not a quiet administrator, and he will shake up the Army bureaucracy not only by pushing transformation, but also by insisting on more-businesslike practices, such as subcontracting to private industry much of the work currently done in-house.

Gen. Eric K. Shinseki
Army Chief of Staff
703-695-2077
Will the Bush Administration reduce the size of the Army to free up money for buying new super-weapons, perhaps the Air Force's F-22 fighter or a national missile defense system? That is the question that challenges the low-key Shinseki, a native of Hawaii's beautiful Kauai Island and the Army's first Asian-American chief of staff, as he tries to transform the Army into a lighter, more nimble service. With 480,000 men and women on Army active duty, critics contend that the service is too large and too wedded to its heavy armor to meet the different threats of the 21st century. Shinseki, 58, has drawn a blueprint to change this, but has not received the extra billions of dollars needed for the transformation. But Shinseki has stamina. A West Point graduate, he survived two tours in Vietnam, was wounded each time, and went on to a distinguished career in the armored branch. He also found time to earn a master's degree in English literature from Duke University. Shinseki commanded the peacekeeping force in Bosnia. He has two years remaining in his term.

Navy

Gordon England
Secretary of the Navy
703-695-3131
England has never served in uniform, but in a Pentagon where a corporate outlook is in vogue, he has the perfect qualifications. The 63-year-old Baltimore native has spent the bulk of his career as an executive at General Dynamics Corp., a defense contractor that makes everything from Navy submarines and destroyers to Army grenades and tanks. England's specialty, however, is aviation. After starting his career with Honeywell Corp. in the 1960s as an engineer on the Gemini space program, England joined GD in 1966 as an aviation engineer. He eventually rose to head the company's aircraft division in Fort Worth, Texas. England then joined Lockheed-later to become Lockheed Martin-when that company bought the fighter jet operation from GD. He retired from Lockheed Martin in 1995, but returned to GD in 1997 to serve as an executive vice president. His supporters say he is not simply a bottom-line, corporate type, but a high-energy leader with exceptional people skills. Critics contend that his years of industry experience will make it difficult for him to cancel or critique weapons that he marketed as an executive. England holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland, and an MBA from Texas Christian University.

Gen. James L. Jones Jr.
Marine Corps Commandant
703-614-2500
In 57-year-old Jones, the Corps has not only a fully certified warrior with mud on his boots, but also an operative wise in the ways of Washington. His most recent post before being tapped to be the No. 1 Marine in July 1999 was as senior military assistant to Defense Secretary William S. Cohen, a post that gave him firsthand knowledge of global problems as he traveled worldwide with the Secretary. But Jones has had lots of international experience. Although born in Kansas City, Mo., he grew up in France, where his father (also a former Marine) sold International Harvester machines. He took his college degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and then went to Vietnam as a Marine, earning his Silver Star as commander of an under-strength rifle company that waged a heroic 12-hour battle against North Vietnamese forces at Khe Sanh. Jones's biggest challenge at this midway point in his four-year term is to restore the credibility of the Corps in regard to its new prized troop carrier, the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, which has been plagued by a series of crashes.

Adm. Vern Clark
Chief of Naval Operations
703-695-5664
A ship driver who has commanded destroyers and frigates as well as the entire Atlantic Fleet, Clark is known for his businesslike leadership style and calm demeanor. He took the Navy's helm in July 2000, and in the three years remaining in his term, the Navy will have to overcome chronic funding shortages and a modernization crisis. At its current buying rate, for instance, the Navy cannot replace retiring ships fast enough, and its fleet will shrink from roughly 300 ships to just 220 in 15 years. How Clark steers his service through those troubled waters will largely define his legacy as CNO. Not that Clark lacks experience with daunting management challenges. As the commander of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier battle group, for instance, he deployed to the Persian Gulf and later served as deputy commander of Joint Task Force Southwest Asia, which oversees all U.S. troops in the Middle East. He also directed the Joint Staff's crisis action team during the Persian Gulf War. Born in Sioux City, Iowa, and raised in Nebraska, Missouri, and Illinois, Clark, 56, graduated from Evangel College. He later earned an MBA from the University of Arkansas.

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