Fanning to be new Army undersecretary

If Eric Fanning somehow finds himself with nothing to do in the next few years, he might be a good candidate for the director of Washington Headquarters Service, the outfit that runs the physical Pentagon.

After all, he now knows every corner of the building, having served as a deputy undersecretary of the Navy, the acting secretary of the Air Force, the chief of staff to the Defense secretary and now, the undersecretary of the Army.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced Thursday that he’s appointed Fanning to be the Army’s number-two civilian, at least in an acting capacity. He’s likely to play a key role in the Army during the next few months. Secretary John McHugh, who has served since the beginning of the Obama administration, announced a month ago that he would be stepping down, but would wait until November to allow for an orderly transition.

The Army undersecretary position was left vacant when Brad Carson departed to become the DoD’s undersecretary for personnel and readiness and Carter’s point man for reform of the overall personnel system.

While there’s been no official nomination from the White House for either of those positions, both of which must be confirmed by the Senate, Fanning’s former job – that of Carter’s chief of staff – has been filled by Eric Rosenbach, who served as Carter’s deputy chief of staff until last Thursday. He will ascend to the Chief of Staff role beginning on Monday.

Rosenbach was previously the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for cyber policy. He helped craft DoD’s first cybersecurity strategies, and technically still serves as the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security.

This article is part of Federal News Radio’s weekly Inside the Reporter’s Notebook feature. Read more from this week’s Notebook.

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