Thomas E. White became the 18th Secretary of the Army on May 31, 2001, after nomination to that post by President Bush and confirmation by the United States Senate.

As Secretary of the Army, Secretary White has statutory responsibility for all matters relating to Army manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and equipment acquisition, communications, and financial management. Secretary White is responsible for the department's annual budget of nearly $70 billion. The Secretary leads a work force of just over one million active duty, National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers and 270,000 civilian employees, and has stewardship over 15 million acres of land.

Secretary White began his public service career as an Army officer. After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, he was commissioned in the United States Army in 1967, rising to the rank of Brigadier General in 1990. His distinguished military career included two tours in Vietnam and service as Commander, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment; Commander, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, V Corps; Director, Armor/Anti-Armor Special Task Force; and Executive Assistant to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Mr. White attended the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, and graduated in 1974 with a degree in Operations Research. In 1984, he attended The United States Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Secretary White retired from the Army in July, 1990.

From 1990 to 2001, Mr. White was employed by Enron Corporation and held various senior executive positions.