September 18, 2015 - Eric K. Fanning has served as Acting Under Secretary of the Army since June 2015. He has served as Special Assistant to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter since March 2015, including as Chief of Staff to the Secretary from March to June 2015. From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Fanning served as Under Secretary of the Air Force and as Acting Secretary of the Air Force in 2013. Mr. Fanning previously served as a Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2013.
Prior to joining the Administration, he was Deputy Director of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. Mr. Fanning worked for Business Executives for National Security (BENS), first as the Washington Regional Director in 2001 and then as Senior Vice President for Strategic Development from 2001 to 2007. Prior to joining BENS, Mr. Fanning held a number of positions, including Senior Associate at Robinson, Lerer & Montgomery in New York and Associate Producer at CBS News.
He began his career in public service serving as an Associate Director of Political Affairs at The White House in 1996, Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 1993 to 1996, and as a Research Assistant for the Committee on Armed Services in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 1993. Mr. Fanning received a B.A. from Dartmouth College.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter Statement on the Nomination of Eric Fanning to be Secretary of the Army
September 18, 2015 - "Today, I want to congratulate Eric Fanning for his nomination to be the next secretary of the Army. President Obama has made an excellent choice, and I hope for a quick Senate confirmation.
"Eric served as my first chief of staff at the Pentagon, and it has been a privilege over the course of my career to work alongside him and watch him develop into one of our country's most knowledgeable, dedicated, and experienced public servants. I know he will strengthen our Army, build on its best traditions, and prepare our ground forces to confront a new generation of challenges."
Source: White House and Department of Defense
