Les Brownlee
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Romer Leslie "Les" Brownlee served as the Under Secretary of the Army from November 2001 to December 2004 and as Acting United States Secretary of the Army from 17 November 2004 until his resignation effective 19 November 2004, staying at the Undersecretary's office. Bill Gertz wrote that
Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...
did not wish to name a non-
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
to the job of secretary.''Inside the Ring''
by Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough, November 19, 2004


Military service

Brownlee is a retired Army colonel. He was commissioned in 1962 as a lieutenant in the infantry through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps program at the University of Wyoming. He is a distinguished honor graduate of the U.S. Army Ranger Course, an honor graduate of both the
Infantry Officer Advanced Course Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mari ...
and the Command and General Staff College, and a graduate of the Army's
airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
course as well as the Army War College. Brownlee served two tours in Vietnam. During the last two and a half years of a four and a half year tour in the Pentagon, before retiring in 1984, he was Military Executive to Under Secretary of the Army James Ambrose. His military decorations include the
Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters, and the Purple Heart. He holds a
master's degree in business administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as account ...
from the University of Alabama.


Career

Brownlee became the 27th Under Secretary of the Army on 14 November 2001, following his nomination by President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
and confirmation by the United States Senate. From 10 May 2003 until 19 November 2004, he served as the Acting
Secretary of the Army The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...
. As Under Secretary, Brownlee assisted the secretary in fulfilling statutory responsibilities for recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training and mobilizing the United States Army and managing its $98.5 billion annual budget and more than 1.3 million active duty,
Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...
, Army Reserve and civilian personnel. Brownlee served on the Republican staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee beginning in January 1987, under both Senator
Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Caro ...
and Senator
John Warner John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1979 to 200 ...
. In March 1996, Brownlee was designated staff director of the Senate Committee on Armed Services by then chairman, Sen. Thurmond. In January 1999, he was designated staff director for then chairman, Sen. Warner, serving until November 2001 when he was confirmed as the Under Secretary of the Army. From 1987 to 1996, he was a professional staff member responsible for Army and Marine Corps programs, special operations forces and drug interdiction policy and support. In addition, as deputy staff director, he was deeply involved in policies and programs relating to ballistic missile defense, strategic deterrence and naval strategy, shipbuilding and weapons programs.


Family

His son,
John L. Brownlee John Leslie Brownlee (born January 31, 1965) (payment required) is an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia from 2001 to 2008. He has since worked as the chair of the National White Collar ...
is a former U.S. Attorney, and an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Virginia Attorney General in 2009.


References


External links


Public domain biography provided by the United States Department of Defense
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brownlee, Les 1939 births Living people United States Army colonels United States Secretaries of the Army United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Recipients of the Silver Star George W. Bush administration personnel Texas Republicans United States Under Secretaries of the Army