View source for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs

{{Short description|United States government official}}
{{Infobox official post
| post                    = Assistant Secretary
| body                    = Defense<br />for Personnel and Readiness
| native_name             =
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| insigniacaption         =
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| flag                    = Flag of an U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense.svg
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| flagborder              =
| flagcaption             = Flag of an Assistant Secretary of Defense
| image                   = Ronald T. Keohane (2).jpg
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| incumbent               = [[Ronald T. Keohane]]
| acting                  =
| incumbentsince          = March 13, 2024
| department              = [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]
| style                   =
| type                    =
| status                  =
| abbreviation            = ASD (M&RA)
| member_of               = [[Office of the Secretary of Defense]]
| reports_to              = [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]]
| residence               =
| seat                    =
| nominator               =
| appointer               = The [[President of the United States|President]]
| appointer_qualified     = with [[United States Senate|Senate]] [[advice and consent]]
| termlength              = [[At the pleasure of the President]]
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| precursor               =
| formation               = {{start date|df=y|1984|01|12}}
| first                   = [[Jim Webb]]
| last                    =
| abolished               =
| succession              =
| unofficial_names        =
| deputy                  =
| salary                  = $165,300
| website                 = {{url|https://prhome.defense.gov/Home/Organization/MRA/RI/|Official website}}
}}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))'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/138|title=10 U.S. Code § 138 - Assistant Secretaries of Defense}}</ref> serves as Principal Staff Assistant and advisor to the [[United States Secretary of Defense|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,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.mil/Inside-M-RA/Manpower-Reserve-Affairs/|title=Inside M&RA}}</ref> including the [[Army National Guard]], [[United States Army Reserve|Army Reserve]], [[United States Navy 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.<ref name="multiple">{{cite web|url=http://osdhistory.defense.gov/docs/DOD%20Key%20Officials%201947-2004.pdf |title=Department of Defense Key Officials |publisher=Historical Office, OSD |year=2004 |accessdate=1 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721034250/http://osdhistory.defense.gov/docs/DOD%20Key%20Officials%201947-2004.pdf |archivedate=21 July 2011 }}</ref> On September 16, 2022, [[President Biden]] announced his intent to nominate Ronald Keohane to the position.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/16/president-biden-announces-key-nominees-33/|title=President Biden Announces Key Nominees|date=16 September 2022}}</ref>
==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."<ref name="ra.defense.gov">{{Cite web | url=http://ra.defense.gov/documents/Secretary%20McCarthy's%20Statement%20of%20Intent.pdf | title=Manpower & Reserve Affairs}}</ref> The language of these statements is precise and deliberate. As the Statement of Intent explains:
* The ASD(M&RA) "sets the conditions" because the individual armed services must integrate the forces themselves.
* “Seamlessly integrated” and “complementary” are characteristics of a reserve force that can augment and reinforce the active components in every facet of the [[National Security Strategy (United States)|National Security Strategy]]. These characteristics imply an absence of friction and a mutually supporting force structure.
*  A  “total force” is the combination of active and reserve components that service chiefs provide willingly, and that unified combatant commanders can utilize effectively.
* “Delivering credible advice and information” requires fidelity to fact and a humility that avoids boastfulness and over-promising.
* “Resources” include modern and well-positioned equipment and facilities, and the assets necessary for a force that is trained for both irregular and conventional warfare ''prior'' to mobilization and deployment.
*  To "exploit" reserve capabilities means “to take full advantage” of them. In business, it would mean a high return on investment.
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."<ref name="ra.defense.gov"/>
==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).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.c-span.org/organization/?50296/Defense-Manpower-Data-Center |title=Defense Manpower Data Center |publisher=[[C-SPAN]]}}</ref>
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. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/3979/text|title=Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015|date=19 December 2014}}</ref>
==Office holders==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Assistant Secretaries of Defense for Manpower & Reserve Affairs (and preceding offices)<ref name="multiple"/>
|-
! scope="col" width="200" | Name
! scope="col" width="280" | Tenure
! scope="col" width="215" | SecDef(s) Served Under
! scope="col" width="215" | 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]] <br/>[[Frank C. Carlucci III]] <br/>[[William Howard Taft IV|William H. Taft IV]] (Acting) <br/>[[Richard B. Cheney]]||[[Ronald Reagan]] <br/>[[George H. W. Bush]]
|-
| [[Deborah Lee James|Deborah R. Lee]] || June 1, 1993 - April 11, 1998 || [[Leslie Aspin, Jr.]] <br/>[[William J. Perry]]  <br/>[[William S. Cohen]]||[[Bill Clinton]]
|-
| Charles L. Cragin || April 12, 1998 - August 3, 1999 (Acting) <br/> August 4, 1999 - May 31, 2001 (PDASD, in charge) || [[William S. Cohen]] <br/>[[Donald H. Rumsfeld]]||[[Bill Clinton]] <br/>[[George W. Bush]]
|-
| [[Thomas F. Hall]] || October 9, 2002 - April 2009 || [[Donald H. Rumsfeld]] <br/>[[Robert M. Gates]]||[[George W. Bush]] <br/>[[Barack Obama]]
|-
| [[Dennis M. McCarthy]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ra.defense.gov/html/mccarthy.html|title = Manpower & Reserve Affairs}}</ref> || 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]]<br>[[Mark Esper]] || [[Donald Trump]]
|-
||Virginia S. Penrod (Acting/Performing the Duties of)
|December 13, 2019 - May 2, 2022<ref>{{Cite web |title=Virginia Penrod |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/virginia-penrod-87945524b |website=[[Linkedin]]}}</ref>
|[[Mark Esper]]<br>[[Lloyd Austin]]
|[[Donald Trump]]<br>[[Joe Biden]]
|-
|Thomas A. Constable (Performing the Duties of)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/Article/2030571/thomas-a-constable/ | title=Thomas A. Constable }}</ref>
|May 2, 2022 - April 1, 2023
|[[Lloyd Austin]]
|[[Joe Biden]]
|-
|[[Grier Martin]] (Performing the Duties of)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Martin |url=https://prhome.defense.gov/Home/Leaders/Martin/ |website=prhome.defense.gov}}</ref>
|April 1, 2023 - March 13, 2024
|[[Lloyd Austin]]
|[[Joe Biden]]
|-
|Ronald Keohane<ref>{{Cite web |title=Department of Defense Key Officials |url=https://history.defense.gov/Portals/70/Documents/key_officials/KeyOfficials-2024-03-18.pdf?ver=OAdUrz6zMkTKcC9HKlI9nQ%3d%3d |access-date=October 14, 2024 |website=history.defense.gov}}</ref>
|March 13, 2024 - present
|[[Lloyd Austin]]
|[[Joe Biden]]
|}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:United States Assistant Secretaries of Defense| ]]