3 Civilian Secretaries Chosen to Head U.S. Military Services

The Bush Administration has chosen its three civilian service secretaries--Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard L. Armitage for the Army, Undersecretary H. Lawrence Garrett III for the Navy and Donald B. Rice of the RAND Corp. for the Air Force--defense officials said Monday.

The three are versed in the issues facing the services they are slated to run and have a low-key style that would not overshadow Defense Secretary Dick Cheney the way former Navy Secretary John F. Lehman Jr.’s brashness and independence often eclipsed former Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger.

Cheney, by publicly slapping down Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Larry D. Welch for discussing with lawmakers ways to modernize the nation’s land missile force, demonstrated that he wants to be his own man at defense. Armitage and Garrett are veteran government bureaucrats while Rice is a former government official who has stayed in contact with the bureaucracy as a defense specialist at RAND.

Garrett is expected to replace William L. Ball III, once an aide to former Texas Sen. John Tower, who was President Bush’s first choice for defense secretary. Rice would take over the Air Force from another close Tower associate, James F. McGovern. Army Secretary John O. Marsh Jr., a former Democratic representative, is an old friend of Cheney who has been planning to leave his position for some time. If nominated, they must then be confirmed by the Senate.

The primary responsibility of civilian service secretaries is to see that the policies formulated by the civilian defense secretary are implemented by the generals and admirals.