Dr. Francis J. Harvey was sworn in today at the Pentagon as the 19th Secretary of the Army.

This is a great honor for me. My top priority will be to serve our Soldiers, civilian employees and family members of the Active Component, Army Reserve and Army National Guard. I look forward to working with the Secretary of Defense, the Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Pete Schoomaker, and the Army senior leadership as we fight the Global War on Terrorism while continuing to transform the force, Secretary Harvey said.

The Senate confirmed President Bushs nomination of Dr. Harvey Nov. 16.

Its great to have Dr. Harvey on board as our Secretary. Dr. Harvey has a wealth of experience leading large organizations with diverse work forces, managing major programs and leading technology development. His education and industry experience will serve us well as he leads our Army in this window of strategic opportunity, said Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff.

As Secretary of the Army, Secretary Harvey 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 Harvey is responsible for the departments annual budget of $98.5 billion. He leads a work force of over one million active duty, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve Soldiers, 220,000 civilian employees, thousands of contractors, and has stewardship over 15 million acres of land.

Prior to his appointment, Secretary Harvey was a business executive with broad experience centered on the defense industry. He held various professional, management and executive positions within the Westinghouse Corporation from 1969 to 1997, including President of the Electronics Systems Group, President of the Government and Environmental Services Company, and Chief Operating Officer of the $6 billion Industries and Technology Group. Most recently Secretary Harvey was a Director and Vice Chairman of Duratek, a company specializing in treating radioactive, hazardous, and other wastes. In his career he has been involved in one or more phases of over 20 major Department of Defense programs.

Secretary Harvey earned his doctorate in Metallurgy and Material Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelor of Science at the University of Notre Dame in Metallurgy Engineering and Material Science. He was a White House Fellow in the U.S. Department of Defense in the late 1970s.

Secretary Harvey succeeds Les Brownlee, who served as the acting Secretary of the Army for the past 18 months.

I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Secretary Les Brownlee for his leadership and stewardship of the Army over the past 18 months. I speak for the entire Army family when I say his tireless efforts - to build a campaign-quality Army with joint and expeditionary capabilities, to equip our Soldiers with the best equipment and to improve their quality of life - will have an impact on the Army and ensure we remain relevant and ready for decades to come, Gen. Schoomaker said.