Francis Joseph Harvey (born July 8, 1943) served as the 19th

Secretary of the United States 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, ins ...

from November 19, 2004, to March 9, 2007.

Education and family

Harvey was born and raised in

Latrobe, Pennsylvania Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The city population was 8,338 as of the 2010 census (9,265 in 1990). It is located near Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ri ...

. He earned his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in Metallurgy and Materials Science from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science. As of 2013, he and his wife of 52 years, Mary, have two boys. They also have five grandchildren.Associated Press (March 2, 2007)
Biographical Info on Francis J. Harvey.
/ref>

Career

The majority of Harvey's career was spent with corporations that provided products and services to the federal government, particularly the

United States 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 sec ...

, and included a year of government service. He was involved in over 20 major defense programs across the entire spectrum from undersea to outer space, including

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocke ...

s, submarines, surface ships, aircraft and satellites. In addition, he was a member of the Army Science Board in the late 1990s, traveling to numerous U.S. Army installations, and participated in early studies that helped define the Future Combat System. Harvey also served for one year as a

White House Fellow The White House Fellows program is a federal fellowship program established via Executive Order by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964, based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Corp ...

and assistant in the immediate office of the Secretary of Defense, Harold Brown, in the late 1970s. Harvey held various professional, management and executive positions within the

Westinghouse Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...

from 1969 to 1997, including President of the Electronics Systems Group, President of the Government and Environmental Services Company, and Chief Operating Officer of the multibillion-dollar Industries and Technology Group. Before his appointment as Army Secretary, he was also a Director and Vice Chairman of Duratek a portfolio company of the Carlyle Group specializing in treating radioactive, hazardous, and other wastes, He was also Director and Vice Chairman of another Carlyle Group portfolio company, The IT Group, which provided environmental services to both commercial and military customers. In addition, he was a member of the boards of several other corporations.

Secretary of the Army

Army Science Board Meeting February 2005

Harvey was nominated to be

on September 15, 2004, 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 ...

. In this position, Harvey served as the senior civilian official within the Department of the Army. He was responsible for all matters relating to Army manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and equipment acquisition, communications, and financial management, as well as an annual budget of $98.5 billion and over one million soldiers, personnel, and contractors.

Walter Reed incident and resignation

In the wake of the

Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal The Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal refers to a series of allegations of unsatisfactory conditions, treatment of patients, and management at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in Washington, D.C. culminating in two articles ...

, Harvey announced his resignation on March 2, 2007, after being asked to do so by Secretary of Defense

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush a ...

, with effect from March 9.Secretary Harvey Says Farewell
/ref> In his memoirs, Gates cited Harvey's appointment of Army Surgeon-General Kevin C. Kiley as temporary hospital commander. This appointment "was greeted with dismay by many wounded warriors and their families" because many of these problems arose during Kiley's previous command of the hospital. Gates also cited Harvey's "unconscionable" attempt to blame the problems on "some NCOs who weren't doing their job". Gates described Harvey as "a good man who had rendered distinguished service to the country. I fired him because once informed of the circumstances at Walter Reed, he did not take the problem serious enough".

References

*Garcia, Charles P. ''Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows: Learn How to Inspire Others, Achieve Greatness, and Find Success in Any Organization''. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009.

External links

Francis J. Harvey's federal campaign contributions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Francis J. 1943 births Living people People from Latrobe, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Republicans United States Secretaries of the Army University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni University of Notre Dame alumni George W. Bush administration personnel