Challenges Facing Our 21st Century Army
Secretary of the United States Army
Mr. Pete Geren became the 20th Secretary of the Army July 16, 2007, following his nomination by President George W. Bush and confirmation by the United States Senate. As Secretary of the Army, Mr. Geren has 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.
Mr. Geren is responsible for the Department of the Army's annual budget and supplemental of $170 billion. He leads a work force of over one million active duty, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve Soldiers, 230,000 Department of the Army civilian employees and 280,000 contracted service personnel.
Mr. Geren had been serving as the 28th Under Secretary of the Army, a post he held since Feb. 21, 2006; Geren was named as the Acting Secretary of the Army Mar. 9, 2007.
Mr. Geren joined the Department of Defense in September of 2001 to serve as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense with responsibilities in the areas of inter-agency initiatives, legislative affairs and special projects. Geren served as Acting Secretary of the Air Force from July to November 2005. Prior to joining the Department of Defense, Mr. Geren was an attorney and businessman in Fort Worth, Texas.
From 1989 until his retirement in 1997, Mr. Geren was a member of the U.S. Congress, representing the 12th Congressional District of Texas for four terms. He served on the Armed Services, Science & Technology and the Public Works and Transportation Committee during his tenure in the Congress. Mr. Geren attended Georgia Tech from 1970-73 and received his BA from the University of Texas in 1974 and his JD from University of Texas Law School in 1978.
