Robert M. Speer
Robert M. Speer (born February 10, 1956) served as Acting United States Secretary of the Army from January 20, 2017 to August 2, 2017.
Robert M. Speer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Acting United States Secretary of the Army | |
| In office January 20, 2017 – August 2, 2017 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Eric Fanning |
| Succeeded by | Ryan McCarthy (acting) |
| 15th Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) | |
| In office November 20, 2014 – January 19, 2017 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Mary Sally Matiella |
| Succeeded by | John E. Whitley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 10, 1956 Fort Ord, california |
| Education | University of Notre Dame (BS) Indiana University Bloomington (MBA) National Defense University (MS) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  |
| Years of service | 1976-2004 |
| Rank | Colonel? |
Early life and education
He attended University of Notre Dame (BA, Accounting), Indiana University (MBA, Information Systems) and Industrial College of the Armed Forces of National Defense University (MS, National Resource Strategy). He was commissioned in the Army through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC).
Career
Speer served 28 years in the U. S. Army having been Battalion Commander in the 82nd Airborne Division and Brigade Level Command of a Defense Agency operation.[1] In 2004, Robert Speer was tapped to establish financial controls in Iraq for $18.6 billion appropriated for reconstruction projects during the occupation of Iraq. [2]He then served as a managing director for PricewaterhouseCoopers where he led their Defense and Army business. In October 2009, he was designated the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) and in December 2014, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller.[3] In January, 2017, Speer was one of only six senior Pentagon officials to be asked to stay through the transition to President Trump's administration. [4]
Acting Secretary of the Army
In February 2017 Speer, saying a sufficient amount of information was already available, announced that the Army Corps of Engineers would grant the easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe.[5] The pipeline crossing of the Missouri River will come just upriver of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and had been vigorously protested by the Sioux and other Native American, environmental, veteran, clergy and citizen groups and individuals. During the planning stage of the project, the crossing's proposed route had shifted from north of Bismarck, North Dakota by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP)[6] though not, per one fact check, due to citizen protests in Bismarck.[7] ETP, the pipeline’s developer, "says the pipeline is safe". Speer's announcement said that, with the issuance of the permit, "we will have completed all the tasks in President Trump's Presidential Memorandum of January 24, 2017."[5]
Personal life
Speer currently resides in Virginia. He and his wife have four adult children and two grandchildren.[3]
References
- https://www.codeofsupport.org/robert-speer
- http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/leaders/interviews/2015/04/14/interview-us-army-assistant-secretary-robert-speer/25760357/
- Robert M. Speer, defense.gov. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
- http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/10/politics/trump-transition-pentagon-officials/index.html
- "US Army Corps of Engineers to grant easement for Dakota Access Pipeline", FoxNews.com including AP contribution, February 7, 2017. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
- McKibben, Bill, "Trump’s Pipeline and America’s Shame", The New Yorker, February 8, 2017. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
- LaCapria, Kim, "", Snopes.com, November 30, 2016. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Eric Fanning |
United States Secretary of the Army Acting 2017 |
Succeeded by Ryan McCarthy Acting |