How many Secretaries of the Army were not in the army?

Answer 1

The position of Secretary of the Army was established in 1946, after World War II, in which more than half of the office holders to date had served (including those in the Army Air Corps). However, there is no requirement that the Secretary, a civilian position, have any military experience at all. This is more common among undersecretaries who have briefly served as acting secretaries.

Of the 22 Secretaries since 1946:

1 was in the US Navy, 1 was in the Royal Navy, and 7 were never in the military

but this includes all four of the most recent men appointed to the position (2005-2015). The first African-American to be Secretary of the Army, attorney Clifford Alexander Jr., served briefly in the National Guard and was the 13th Secretary, in office from 1977 to 1981. Of the 9 acting secretaries, 4 were not in the military.

The last two to have been in the US Army served from 2001 to 2004. Thomas E. White (18th Secretary) was born in 1943, graduated from West Point in 1967, and retired as a brigadier general in 1990. He was succeeded by acting secretary Les Brownlee, a former Army Ranger who retired as a colonel in 1984.

Secretaries not in the Army:

The 4th Secretary of the Army was a businessman, Robert T. Stevens (in office 1953 to 1955).

The second acting Secretary, engineer Norman R. Augustine, was undersecretary from 1975-1977.

The 7th Secretary, Cyrus Vance (later Secretary of State), was an officer in the US Navy.

The 8th Secretary, Stephen Ailes, was color-blind and exempted from military service.

The third acting Secretary, Percy Pierre, was an electronics engineer (asst secretary 1977-1981)

The 15th Secretary, Michael Stone, was a Royal Navy aviator who served in the Fleet Air Arm.

The 16th Secretary, Togo West Jr. , was an attorney (became Secretary of Veterans Affairs 1997)

The seventh acting Secretary, Gregory Dahlberg, was an administrator with the US DOT.

The eighth acting Secretary, undersecretary Joseph Westphal, was a professor of Political Science.

The 19th Secretary, Francis Harvey, was an engineer.

The 20th Secretary, Pete Geren, was an attorney.

The 21st Secretary, John McHugh, has a BA in political science.

The 22nd Secretary (designate), Eric Fanning, has a BA in history.