Caral Elizabeth Spangler ( ) (); is an American government official who had served as the

Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) (abbreviated ASA(FM&C)) is a civilian office in the United States Department of the Army. The office of Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) ...

Early life and education

Spangler was born in

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, Blue Earth, Nicollet County, Minnesota, Nicollet, and Le Sueur County, Minnesota, Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics with honor from the

School of Business A business school is a higher education institution or professional school that teaches courses leading to degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, s ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

in 1980. She then obtained a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

degree from the

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Maxwell School) is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 1 ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in 1981.

Career

Spangler began her career in the office of the

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) The assistant secretary of the navy (financial management and comptroller) (abbreviated ASN FM) is a civilian office of the United States Department of the Navy. The assistant secretary of the navy (financial management and comptroller) is respo ...

. She then worked in the office of the

Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, abbreviated USD(C)/CFO or C/CFO, is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Defense. The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/CFO is the princip ...

and as a legislative aide for Congressman

Norman Mineta Norman Yoshio Mineta (, November 12, 1931 – May 3, 2022) was an American politician from California. A member of the Democratic Party, Mineta served in the cabinet of the United States for US Presidents Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and George W. ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She later worked in the offices of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, and

, specializing in finance and budget issues. She served as acting auditor general of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, acting assistant secretary of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, and Assistant Deputy Commandant for Program and Resources with the US Marine Corps.

Army Nomination

President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

nominated Spangler as

on June 3, 2021. She was approved the

Senate Armed Services Committee The Committee on Armed Services, sometimes abbreviated SASC for Senate Armed Services Committee, is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defen ...

on August 7 and confirmed by the entire

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on August 9 by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...

. She was sworn in on August 17, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spangler, Caral E. Living people People from Mankato, Minnesota Eli Broad College of Business alumni Michigan State University alumni Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs alumni United States Department of Defense officials Women government officials Biden administration personnel Year of birth missing (living people)