The White House on Thursday announced its intent to nominate retired Navy Admiral Jim McPherson to permanently serve as the Army’s next under secretary.
McPherson, the acting under secretary as well as the Army’s current general counsel, will succeed Ryan McCarthy who was confirmed as the service secretary at the end of September.
Prior to his time with the Army, McPherson was the general counsel for the Pentagon’s Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) where he provided legal advice on operations and policy for the former surveillance program. CIFA was shut down in 2008 and its responsibilities shifted over to the Defense Intelligence Agency.
With the Navy, McPherson was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in 2004 in his final assignment as the service’s highest-ranking uniformed lawyer. He then retired from the Navy in 2006.
McPherson spoke to reporters in late June, shortly after accepting the acting under secretary role, where he detailed his focus on ensuring the Army maintained its current modernization path amid several leadership changes (Defense Daily, June 25).
“My job as senior official exercising the duties and responsibilities of the under secretary is to assist Secretary McCarthy, and continuing on with our efforts at modernization reform and the major tenants that have been set by the leadership team,” McPherson said at the time.