Army, Navy secretary nominees expected to be named soon

[nitpicker]

http://www.defensenews.com/articles/army-navy-secretary-nominees-expected-to-be-named-soon

Army, Navy secretary nominees expected to be named soon

By: Aaron Mehta, March 31, 2017 (Photo Credit: Department of Defense/Jette Carr)

WASHINGTON – The White House is expected to nominate soon its choices for secretary of the Navy and secretary of the Army, as well as the Army undersecretary spot. A source in the administration tells Defense News the names will be released “very soon,” perhaps on Friday afternoon or over the weekend.

As was first reported by Military Times, the Army secretary spot will be offered to former Army flight surgeon and Tennessee state Sen. Mark Green. His undersecretary is expected to be Ryan McCarthy, a former Army Ranger, staffer for former Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, and now a vice president for Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense contractor.

For Navy, the nominee will be Richard V. Spencer, a former Marine aviator who serves as the head of Fall Creek Management, LLC, the administration source confirmed. McCarthy’s nomination was first reported by the Wall Street Journal; Spencer’s by Bloomberg.

Green, best known as the special operations soldier who interviewed former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein after his capture by American forces in 2003, was elected to state office in 2012 and for the last seven years has served as founder and CEO of Align MD, an emergency department staffing company. The firm operates in 30 hospitals in six states.
(snip)

McCarthy, who has served a variety of jobs with Lockheed, including time on the F-35 joint strike fighter program, carved out a reputation as one of Gates’ operatives inside the Pentagon, according to a former defense official who asked to speak on background.
(snip)

Spencer is a former member of the Pentagon’s Defense Business Board and has worked in a number of financial sector jobs. He currently serves on the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel.

Green and Spencer represent the second attempt of the Trump administration to fill those spots. Stringent requirements against conflicts of interest led Army secretary nominee Vincent Viola, a billionaire Army veteran, and Navy secretary pick Philip Bilden, a Hong Kong-based financier, to drop out after being nominated.
(snip)