Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the

United States Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary o ...

. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Department of the Navy (reporting to the

United States Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States D ...

). That role has since been supplanted by the office of

Under Secretary of the Navy Under may refer to: * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz Ünder (born 1997), Turkish footballer *Marie Under Marie Under ( – 25 September 1980) was one o ...

and the office of Assistant Secretary of the Navy has been abolished. There have, however, been a number of offices bearing the phrase "Assistant Secretary of the Navy" in their title (see below for details). At present, there are four Assistant Secretaries of the Navy, each of whom reports to and assists the Secretary of the Navy and the Under Secretary of the Navy: *

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) (abbreviated ASN (RDA)) is a civilian office of the United States Department of the Navy. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) requ ...

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) (abbreviated as ASN M&RA) is a civilian office in the United States Department of the Navy. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) reports to the Under ...

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) (abbreviated ASN FM) is a civilian office of the United States Department of the Navy. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) is respon ...

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Energy, Installations and Environment) The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Energy, Installations and Environment) (abbreviated ASN(EI&E)) is a civilian office in the United States Navy established in 1990. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Energy, Installations and Environment) r ...

* The

General Counsel of the Navy The General Counsel of the Department of the Navy is the senior civilian lawyer in the United States Department of the Navy, U.S. Department of the Navy and is the senior legal adviser to the United States Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the ...

is equivalent in rank to the four Assistant Secretaries.

History

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was established in 1861, to provide a senior deputy to the Secretary. The Assistant Secretary was responsible for the Navy's civilian personnel, as well as for administration of shore facilities (such as naval bases and shipyards).

Gustavus Fox Gustavus Vasa Fox (June 13, 1821 – October 29, 1883) was an officer of the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican–American War, and as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the Civil War. Life and career Fox was born at Saugus, Ma ...

was the first to hold the post, serving throughout the Civil War. The office was disestablished in 1869, during Reconstruction, but was reestablished by Congress on July 11, 1890. James R. Soley was the first to be appointed to the newly reestablished position. The Assistant Secretary was the Navy's number-two civilian until 1940, when Congress established the position of Under Secretary of the Navy, who was given oversight of the Assistant Secretary's activities. James V. Forrestal, later

Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

, was the first to serve as Under Secretary; he held the post until 1944, when he became

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

. During the 20th century, the responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary were divided among several officials. During the 1920s, for example, to reflect the increasing importance of

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

, Congress established the position of

Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) was a civilian office of the United States Department of the Navy. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) initially reported to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy and later to the Under Secretary of the ...

. The office of Assistant Secretary of the Navy was disestablished in 1954.

Famous Assistant Secretaries of the Navy

* U.S. President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1897 to 1898, during the William McKinley administration. * U.S. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1913 until 1920, and helped to implement Navy policies during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. * According to author Edward J. Renehan, Jr., no fewer than five members of the extended Roosevelt clan served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy: Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt,

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Theodore Roosevelt III ( ), often known as Theodore Jr.Morris, Edmund (1979). ''The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt''. index.While it was President Theodore Roosevelt who was legally named Theodore Roosevelt Jr., the President's fame made it simple ...

who served from 1921 through 1924 under Harding and Coolidge,

Theodore Douglas Robinson Theodore Douglas Robinson (April 28, 1883 – April 10, 1934) was an American politician from New York who served as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy from November 1924 to 1929. He was a member of the Roosevelt family through his mother and was ...

(the son of Corinne Roosevelt) who served from 1924 through 1929 under Coolidge, and finally

Henry Latrobe Roosevelt Henry Latrobe Roosevelt (October 5, 1879 – February 22, 1936) was an Assistant Secretary of the United States Navy and a member of the Roosevelt family. Early life Roosevelt was born on October 5, 1879 in Morristown, New Jersey, to Lieutenant ...

, a descendant of

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...

's old friend "Steamboat Nicholas" Roosevelt, who served from 1933 through 1936 under FDR. *

Ralph Austin Bard Ralph Austin Bard (July 29, 1884 – April 5, 1975) was a Chicago financier who served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1941–1944, and as Under Secretary, 1944–1945. He is noted for a memorandum he wrote to Secretary of War He ...

was Assistant Secretary (1941–1944) and then Under Secretary (1944–1945) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Assistant Secretaries of the Navy, 1861–1954

Defunct offices bearing the title of "Assistant Secretary of the Navy"

References

External links

80.3.1 Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy
General Records of the Department of the Navy, 1798-1947 (Record Group 80) 1804–1958, from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Naval Historical Center, Washington, D.C.
Source for papers and photos of various Assistant Secretaries of the Navy
Navy Organization – The Secretariat
An organizational chart for the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, Dept. of the Navy {{DEFAULTSORT:Assistant Secretary Of The Navy 1861 establishments in the United States Office of the Secretary of the Navy *