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James McPherson
James McPherson
34th United States Under Secretary of the Army
	In office; March 25, 2020 – January 20, 2021; Acting: July 23, 2019 – March 24, 2020
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Ryan McCarthy
Succeeded by	Christopher Lowman (acting)
General Counsel of the Army
	In office; January 2, 2018 – March 24, 2020
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Earl G. Matthews (acting)
Succeeded by	Michele Pearce (acting)
Acting United States Secretary of the Navy
	In office; April 7, 2020 – May 29, 2020
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	Gregory J. Slavonic (acting)
Preceded by	Thomas Modly (acting)
Succeeded by	Kenneth Braithwaite
39th Judge Advocate General of the Navy
	In office; 2004–2006
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Michael Lohr
Succeeded by	Bruce E. MacDonald
Personal details
Born	James Edwin McPherson; January 20, 1953 (age 71); Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Nancy Culver (1972–1987); Jennifer
Children	2
Education	San Diego State University (BA); University of San Diego (JD); JAG School (LLM)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army; United States Navy
Years of service	1972–1975 (Army); 1979–2006 (Navy)
Rank	Rear Admiral
Unit	Army Military Police Corps; Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps
Awards	Legion of Merit; Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal

James Edwin McPherson^[1] (born January 20, 1953)^[1]^[2] is an American government official and retired United States Navy rear admiral. He served as the General Counsel of the Army from January 2, 2018, to March 24, 2020. He served as the United States Under Secretary of the Army from March 25, 2020, to January 20, 2021, and in acting capacity from July 23, 2019, to March 24, 2020.^[3]^[4] He served as Acting United States Secretary of the Navy from April 7, 2020, to May 29, 2020, following the resignation of Thomas Modly.^[5]

Education

McPherson is a native of San Diego. He graduated from San Diego State University in 1977 with an undergraduate degree in public administration.^[6] He received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 1981 from the University of San Diego School of Law, and in 1991, he was awarded a Master of Laws degree in Military Law from The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.^[6]

Career

Rear Admiral James McPherson as the 39th Judge Advocate General of the Navy.

McPherson enlisted in the Army in 1972, and served three years as a military policeman, before leaving the Army for college.^[7] In 1979 he was commissioned as an ensign in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the Naval Reserve. He interned in the Naval Legal Service Office (NLSO) in San Diego and then attended Naval Justice School, in Newport, R.I., completing his training in 1982. He served as a judge advocate and trial counsel at several Navy commands and ships before and after completing his graduate training in 1991. In June 1994, he reported to the staff of Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet as the Force Judge Advocate. In December 1995, he joined the staff of the Vice Chief of Naval Operations as the Assistant for Legal and Legislative Matters. In October 1997, he became Special Counsel to the Chief of Naval Operations. In September 2000, he assumed command of Trial Service Office East, Norfolk, Va. In October 2002, he was promoted to rear admiral and assigned as the Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Navy and Commander of Naval Legal Service Command. On November 10, 2004, McPherson became the 39th Judge Advocate General of the Navy, a position he held until 2006.^[8]

McPherson has served as the executive director of the National Association of Attorneys General. He also served as the general counsel of the Department of Defense Counterintelligence Field Activity.

On October 13, 2017, President Donald Trump announced the nomination of McPherson to become the General Counsel of the United States Department of the Army.^[9] The United States Senate confirmed his nomination by voice vote on December 20.^[10] He was sworn in on January 2, 2018.

On December 5, 2019, Trump nominated him to be Under Secretary of the Army, a position that he had been holding since July 23, 2019, in an acting capacity, while concurrently serving as General Counsel of the Army.^[11] He was sworn in on March 25, 2020, after being confirmed by the Senate.^[3] Defense Secretary Mark Esper designated McPherson as Acting Secretary of the Navy on April 7, replacing Thomas Modly who resigned the same day.^[5] In relation to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic on USS Theodore Roosevelt McPherson and Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael M. Gilday recommended that Brett Crozier be reinstated as the commanding officer of the Roosevelt on April 25, 2020.^[12]

Award

McPherson is a recipient of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Meritorious Service Medal.^[6]

Personal life

He and his wife Jennifer are married and have two adult children.^[13]

References

^ ^a ^b Register of commissioned and warrant officers of the United States Navy and reserve officers on active duty (1985)
^ California Birth Index
^ ^a ^b Kimmons, Sean (April 1, 2020). "McPherson officially sworn in as undersecretary of the Army". Army News Service. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
^ "UNDER SECRETARY OF THE ARMY - James E. McPherson". U.S. Army. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Martinez, Luis (April 7, 2020). "Acting Navy secretary resigns after carrier remarks, Esper names replacement". ABC News. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c US Navy - JAG (2004). "James McPherson Bio". US Navy. Archived from the original (.doc) on December 8, 2006. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
^ Nakano, Rina (April 8, 2020). "San Diego native appointed as acting Navy Secretary". ABC 10 News San Diego. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
^ "Rear Admiral James E. McPherson". United States Navy. 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. October 13, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2019 – via National Archives. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ "PN1097 — James E. McPherson — Department of Defense". United States Congress. 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Post". whitehouse.gov. December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019 – via National Archives.
^ Cooper, Helene; Eric Schmitt and Thomas Gibbons-Neff (April 24, 2020). "Navy Leaders Recommend Reinstating Roosevelt Captain Fired Over Virus Warning". SF Gate.
^ James E. McPherson - General Counsel of the Army

External links

Media related to James E. McPherson at Wikimedia Commons

United States Army biography
Appearances on C-SPAN

Military offices
Preceded by Michael Franklin Lohr	Judge Advocate General of the Navy 2004–2006	Succeeded by Bruce E. MacDonald
Government offices
Preceded by Earl G. Matthews Acting	General Counsel of the Army 2018–2020	Succeeded by Michele Pearce
Political offices
Preceded by Ryan McCarthy	United States Under Secretary of the Army 2019–2021 Acting: 2019–2020	Succeeded by Christopher Lowman Acting
Preceded by Thomas Modly Acting	United States Secretary of the Navy Acting 2020	Succeeded by Kenneth Braithwaite