Highlights
History
 The first Director of WHS David O. (Doc) Cooke |
Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) is a Department of Defense (DoD) Field Activity, created on October 1, 1977. DoD Field Activities supply services required by more than one DoD component or military department. Prior to the establishment of WHS, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) provided administrative support for several DoD Components outside of OSD. The Department created WHS in order to remove these support functions from OSD in order to refocus OSD staff on matters involving policy analysis and oversight.
WHS has become the agency of choice for DoD-wide support functions through the initiative reforms of the past two decades, and its worldwide mission continues to evolve. WHS provides consolidated administrative and operational support to several Defense Agencies, DoD Field Activities, DoD headquarters, various military departments, the White House, and in some capacity to Congress.
WHS grew from its original size of 327 personnel in FY 1977 to a government personnel peak of 1,960 in FY 1994. Currently, WHS has approximately 1,200 civilian and military employees and 2,000 contract employees.
David O. (Doc) Cooke was the first Director of WHS. He also served concurrently as the Director of Administration and Management (DA&M) for OSD. Known as the “Mayor of the Pentagon,” Doc brought extraordinary dedication to his job for over 20 years before his death on June 22, 2002.
Raymond F. DuBois assumed the role of DA&M in October 2002. Mr. DuBois served concurrently as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment).
Howard G. Becker officially assumed the role of Director of WHS in 2002. Upon Mr. Becker’s retirement in May 2006, Ralph Newton was named Acting Director of WHS. Michael L. Rhodes was sworn in as Director of WHS on November 27, 2006. He became the Acting DA&M on June 21, 2008. Mr. Rhodes served in both positions concurrently until March 25, 2010, when he was appointed by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates to serve as the DA&M. On April 27, 2010, William Brazis was sworn in as the Director of WHS. On Friday, May 14, 2010, Mr. Brazis announced the appointment of Ms. Mary George as Deputy Director, WHS. She served in this capacity until her retirement in June of 2012. Mr. Sajeel Ahmed currently serves as the Acting Deputy Director, WHS.