Former Lobbyist Mark Esper Named to Top Job at Pentagon
June 18 2019 - 4:46PM
Dow Jones News
By Ben Kesling
WASHINGTON -- Mark Esper, a former defense-industry lobbyist and
the current civilian head of the Army, brings a long resume as
Washington insider to his new role as acting secretary of
defense.
Mr. Esper, named acting Pentagon chief on Tuesday after acting
Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan stepped aside, spent seven years as
the head Washington lobbyist for Raytheon Co. before becoming
secretary of the Army nearly two years ago.
He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in
1986, in the same class as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He
served on active duty as an infantry officer before moving to the
National Guard and Army Reserve until his retirement in 2007,
according to his official Pentagon biography.
Before taking the high-profile lobbying job for Raytheon, Mr.
Esper worked as a staffer on Capitol Hill, including a stint as a
senior adviser to then- Sen. Chuck Hagel (R., Neb.), who later
became secretary of defense under President Obama.
Mr. Esper also served as chief of staff at a conservative think
tank, the Heritage Foundation, as a top officer at the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce and as executive vice president of the Aerospace
Industries Association, a trade lobby. He has a master's degree
from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in public policy from George
Washington University.
Mr. Esper's nomination to head the Army came amid a flurry of
Pentagon candidates with close defense-industry ties and prompted
the late Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), then the chairman of the
Senate Armed Services Committee, to say he wouldn't support any
more nominations to Pentagon leadership positions from industry
insiders.
At that confirmation hearing, Mr. Esper laid out some of the
touchstones that have come to define his tenure at the
department.
"We need to fundamentally relook the whole acquisition process,"
he told the Senate committee, adding that the Army needs "closer
engagement with industry -- both private and commercial sector [and
to] look more to the commercial sector for off-the-shelf"
products.
In less than two years that he has headed the Army, Mr. Esper
has made a number of high-profile acquisition decisions, including
canceling the Bradley fighting-vehicle program and other
longstanding Army programs in favor of designing and fielding new
equipment. Plans now include a new Army combat rifle and artillery
piece, as well as high-tech night-vision goggles and a replacement
for the Black Hawk helicopter.
Mr. Esper also created Army Futures Command, designed to help
the service's research and development efforts and to integrate
with high-tech private-industry companies.
His nomination as civilian head of the Army came after President
Trump failed to fill the post in his first two attempts. Following
a mixed reception to his nomination as Army head, Mr. Esper
eventually gained bipartisan respect in Congress because of an
effort to cut programs identified as unneeded and redirect funds
elsewhere.
"I want to tip my hat to Mark Esper because the secretary of the
Army, they've done a deep dive on all of their programs," Rep. Adam
Smith (D., Wash.), the chairman of the House Armed Services
Committee, said earlier this week. "They've figured out where their
excess capacity is, and they don't want to buy excess
capacity."
Sen. James Inhofe (R., Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed
Services Committee, said: "Esper has a long history of dedicated
service to this nation, and he has shown excellent judgment in his
current position, which I expect will continue as he assumes the
role of acting Secretary of Defense."
Mr. Esper has been outspoken, frequently taking questions from
the media, though has carefully avoided talking about controversial
policy issues beyond the scope of his job dealing with funding and
personnel issues in the Army.
A representative for Mr. Esper didn't respond to a request for
comment.
Write to Ben Kesling at benjamin.kesling@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 18, 2019 16:31 ET (20:31 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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