Paul Francis McHale Jr. (born July 26, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician. From 2003 to 2009, he served as the

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs, or ASD (HD-HA), is responsible for the supervision of DoD homeland defense activities, defense support of civil authorities, and cyber affairs for the Department ...

. Additionally, from 1993 to 1999, he represented

Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district has been located in western Pennsylvania since February 2018. The district includes all of Warren County, McKean County, Forest County, Venango County, Elk County, Cameron County, Clarion County, ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. In 1992, McHale defeated incumbent U.S. Congressman

Donald L. Ritter Donald Lawrence Ritter (born October 21, 1940) is a former Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. From 1979 to 1993, Ritter represented Pe ...

for his seat representing the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

in the U.S. Congress. Currently, McHale is the President of Civil Support International LLC, which is a

consulting firm A consulting firm or simply consultancy is a professional service firm that provides expertise and specialised labour for a fee, through the use of consultants. Consulting firms may have one employee or thousands; they may consult in a broad range ...

that advises

private contractor Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

s and government agencies in matters related to

disaster preparedness Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...

crisis response Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...

, and

homeland defense Homeland defense (HD) is the protection of a territory, sovereignty, domestic population, and critical infrastructure against external threats and aggression. (Definition will be incorporated into JP 3-26Definition deferred to ''Homeland Defense, J ...

and

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...

Education and military service

McHale was born in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

, where he graduated from Liberty High School. McHale received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...

in 1972 and a J.D. from

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

in 1977. He served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

from 1972 to 1974. He has been a member of the

Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...

since 1974, and retired with the

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * H ...

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 2007. He served in

Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. McHale also served combat tours in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

(1990),

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

(1991), and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

(2007). His personal military decorations include the Baryal Medal for his service in Afghanistan, the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: *Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Med ...

and the

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

(2nd award). In October 2006, McHale was recalled to active Marine Corps duty to deploy to

. For McHale's service as both a Congressman and Assistant Secretary of Defense, McHale was awarded the DoD Distinguished Public Service Medal – the department's highest civilian honor – by each of the past three Secretaries of Defense.

Politics

McHale was a member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 1983 to 1991, resigning in order to volunteer for active duty in the

. In 1992, he ran for Congress and defeated 14-year incumbent Don Ritter in a major upset, with the support of significant numbers of Democratic, Republican and Independent voters in the Lehigh Valley. While serving in Congress, McHale was an active member of the

House Armed Services Committee The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of Defe ...

and he co-founded the National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus. McHale gained prominence in 1998 when he called for

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

to resign. He voted for three of the four articles of impeachment against Clinton. He was one of only five Democrats who voted for at least one article, and had by far the most liberal voting record of those who supported impeachment. The other four Democrats who voted for at least one article were

Virgil Goode Virgil Hamlin Goode Jr. (born October 17, 1946) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 5th congressional district of Virginia between 1997 and 2009. He was initially a Democrat, but be ...

Ralph Hall Ralph Moody Hall (May 3, 1923 – March 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as the United States representative for from 1981 to 2015. He was first elected in 1980, and was the chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Tec ...

Charlie Stenholm Charles Walter Stenholm (born October 26, 1938) is an American businessman and Democratic Party politician from a rural district of the State of Texas. After establishing himself as owner/operator of a large cotton farm, he entered politics and w ...

, and Gene Taylor, all of whom had very conservative voting records. Goode, Hall and Taylor subsequently became Republicans, while McHale served in the Bush Administration.

Legal career

McHale began representing

Panda Energy International Panda Energy International, Corporation, Inc. was an American private company, privately held Company (law), company headquartered in Dallas, Texas which constructs, maintains and operates environmentally friendly Power station, power plants. The ...

in 1999, after the completion of his term in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, during

Panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white animal coat, coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is ...

's legal and public relations battles which took place in his former Congressional district.

Assistant Secretary of Defense

He assumed his former position as the Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) for Homeland Defense (HD), later to become Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs (HD&ASA), on February 7, 2003. He left in January 2009 at the end of the George W. Bush administration. The first to hold this position, Mr. McHale supervised all homeland defense activities for the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

and represented the Department of Defense at the highest levels of U.S. domestic crisis planning. Additionally, as the ASD(HD&ASA), he was responsible for DoD Critical Infrastructure Protection, civilian oversight of the two combatant commands in North America and South America, Western Hemisphere affairs, and the transfer of technologies to homeland security use pursuant to Section 1401 of the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act.

Personal life

He is married to

Martha Rainville Martha T. Rainville ( née Trim, born April 9, 1958) is a retired U.S. Air Force officer who attained the rank of major general. She was the first woman in U.S. history to become a state adjutant general when she served in that post with the Ver ...

, the first woman in the history of the U.S. National Guard to serve as a state Adjutant General and a former congressional candidate from

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. He has three children from a previous marriage to Katherine Pecka McHale.Morning Call article
June 5, 1991

References

Retrieved 2008-04-02. * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McHale, Paul 1950 births United States Marine Corps personnel of the Gulf War United States Marine Corps personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Lehigh University alumni Liberty High School (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Georgetown University Law Center alumni Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Military personnel from Pennsylvania Politicians from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Assistant Secretaries of Defense United States Marine Corps colonels