Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs

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In the United States military, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs(ASD (M&RA)), formerly Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs(ASD (RA)) [1] serves as Principal Staff Assistant and advisor to the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense and Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, with responsibility for "overall policies and procedures of [U.S.] Total Force manpower, personnel and reserve affairs," [2] including the Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and Coast Guard Reserve. The ASD (M&RA) reports directly to the Under Secretary of Defense (P&R) and exercises authority, direction, and control over the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. [3] On September 16, 2022, President Biden announced his intent to nominate Ronald Keohane to the position. [4]

Contents

Responsibilities

According to a Statement of Intent signed by the ASD(M&RA), the purpose of the office is "to set the conditions for a sustainable, seamlessly integrated and complementary total force." To do so, the ASD(M&RA) seeks to "proactively deliver credible advice and information about the capabilities of the reserve components," and "develop the policies and resources necessary to fully exploit those capabilities." [5] The language of these statements is precise and deliberate. As the Statement of Intent explains:

The Statement of Intent also sets out a metric for this office's performance: "Our success will be measured by the degree to which we have advanced a culture of mutual appreciation and confidence in both the active and reserve components." [5]

History

This position was mandated by the Department of Defense Authorization Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-94, passed 24 September 1983), and established by Defense Directive 5125.1, signed 12 January 1984. The reserve affairs functions were transferred in from the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics). [6]

Section 902 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (P.L. 113-291, 19 December 2014) redesignated the position as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. [7]

Office holders

Assistant Secretaries of Defense for Manpower & Reserve Affairs (and preceding offices) [3]
NameTenureSecDef(s) Served UnderPresident(s) Served Under
Jim Webb May 3, 1984 - April 10, 1987 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan
Stephen M. DuncanOctober 26, 1987 - January 20, 1993 Caspar W. Weinberger
Frank C. Carlucci III
William H. Taft IV (Acting)
Richard B. Cheney 		Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Deborah R. Lee June 1, 1993 - April 11, 1998 Leslie Aspin, Jr.
William J. Perry
William S. Cohen 		Bill Clinton
Charles L. CraginApril 12, 1998 - August 3, 1999 (Acting)
August 4, 1999 - May 31, 2001 (PDASD, in charge)		 William S. Cohen
Donald H. Rumsfeld 		Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
Thomas F. Hall October 9, 2002 - April 2009 Donald H. Rumsfeld
Robert M. Gates 		George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Dennis M. McCarthy [8] June 25, 2009 - April 19, 2011 Robert M. Gates Barack Obama
David McGinnis (Acting)April 19, 2011 - May 24, 2012 Leon Panetta Barack Obama
Jessica L. Wright May 24, 2012 - December 31, 2013 Leon Panetta Barack Obama
Richard O. Wightman, Jr. (Acting)January 1, 2014 - August 2015 Chuck Hagel Barack Obama
Todd A. Weiler May 15, 2016 - January 20, 2017 Ashton Carter Barack Obama
Stephanie Barna (Acting)January 20, 2017 - July 30, 2018 James Mattis Donald Trump
Virginia S. Penrod (Acting)July 31, 2018 - October 22, 2018 James Mattis Donald Trump
James N. Stewart October 22, 2018 - December 13, 2019 James Mattis
Mark Esper 		Donald Trump
Virginia S. Penrod (Acting/Performing the Duties of)December 13, 2019 - May 2, 2022 [9] Mark Esper
Lloyd Austin 		Donald Trump
Joe Biden
Thomas A. Constable (Performing the Duties of) [10] May 2, 2022 - April 1, 2023 Lloyd Austin Joe Biden
Grier Martin (Performing the Duties of) [11] April 1, 2023 - March 13, 2024 Lloyd Austin Joe Biden
Ronald Keohane [12] March 13, 2024 - present Lloyd Austin Joe Biden

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References

  1. ↑ "10 U.S. Code § 138 - Assistant Secretaries of Defense".
  2. ↑ "Inside M&RA".
  3. 1 2 "Department of Defense Key Officials" (PDF). Historical Office, OSD. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  4. ↑ "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". 16 September 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Manpower & Reserve Affairs" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "Defense Manpower Data Center". C-SPAN.
  7. ↑ "Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015". 19 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Manpower & Reserve Affairs".
  9. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/virginia-penrod-87945524b [ bare URL ]
  10. ↑ "Thomas A. Constable".
  11. ↑ https://prhome.defense.gov/Home/Leaders/Martin/ [ bare URL ]
  12. ↑ https://history.defense.gov/Portals/70/Documents/key_officials/KeyOfficials-2024-03-18.pdf?ver=OAdUrz6zMkTKcC9HKlI9nQ%3d%3d [ bare URL ]
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