Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs

In the United States military, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (ASD (RA)) 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 supervision of matters which involve the Reserve components, including the Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and Coast Guard Reserve. The ASD (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.[1]

Responsibilities

According to a Statement of Intent signed by the ASD(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(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."[2] 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."[2]

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).

Office holders

Assistant Secretaries of Defense (Reserve Affairs)[1]
Name Tenure SecDef(s) Served Under President(s) Served Under
Jim Webb May 3, 1984 - April 10, 1987 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan
Stephen M. Duncan October 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. Cragin April 12, 1998 - August 3, 1999 (Acting)
Aug 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[3] 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

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.