John E. Whitley

John Euler Whitley (born September 15, 1970) is an American government official who served as the acting United States Secretary of the Army from January 20, 2021, to May 28, 2021. He previously serviced as Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) and acting director of cost assessment and program evaluation for the Department of Defense.

Early life and education Whitley was born in Gainesville, Florida, and grew up in Clear Spring, Maryland.

Whitley served in the United States Army from 1988 until 1992. He served in the 2nd Ranger Battalion and completed numerous courses, including Ranger School, the Ranger Indoctrination Program, and the Special Operations Medical Course.

He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in animal science and a Bachelors of Arts degree in agricultural economics. Whitley graduated summa cum laude and was the outstanding senior in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. He went on to the University of Chicago, where he earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. in Economics in 2000.

Upon completing his Ph.D. in economics, Whitley worked in the economics department of the University of Adelaide in Australia. At Adelaide, Whitley taught various courses on microeconomics topics and published research in on agricultural economics and law and economics topics. In 2007, Whitley worked in the office of Jon Kyl, a former U.S. Senator from Arizona. Whitley served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the U.S. Army, in charge of financial management, audit, and budgetary issue for the $180 billion Army budget.

From August 16, 2019, through March 13, 2020, Whitley was acting director of cost assessment and program evaluation (CAPE) for DoD. He then moved to the role of performing the duties of the director of CAPE from March 13, 2020, through May 4, 2020. As the director of CAPE, Whitley served in roles similar to the Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Investment Officer of the DoD. On May 4, 2020, he was nominated to assume this post. While awaiting confirmation, Whitley served as the acting deputy chief management officer of the DoD. On January 3, 2021, his nomination was returned to the president under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. increased the focus in readiness on small-unit training, directed a major restructuring of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, oversaw the National Guardsmen stationed in Washington, D.C. (including the 25,000 in place for the inauguration on January 20, 2021), and developed the 2022 Army budget. On May 5, 2021, Whitley testified to the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense on the Fiscal Year 2022 Army Budget.

Personal life Whitley lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife, Danielle, and their two children. His son serves in the Army.

Publications

Some academic works Whitley, J.; Bishop, J.; Burns, S.; Guerrera, K.; Lurie, P.; Rieksts, B.; Roberts, B.; Wojtecki, T.; Wu, L. (2018). “Medical Total Force Management: Assessing Readiness and Cost” IDA Paper P-8805

Whitley, J. (2017). “Five Actions to Improve Military Hospital Performance”. IBM Center for The Business of Government.

Whitley, J. (2015). “Four Actions to Integrate Performance Information with Budget Formulation”. IBM Center for The Business of Government.

Roberts, B.; Whitley, J.; and Valdes-Dapena, M. (2014). “Economics of Federal Law Enforcement,” in Payson S. (ed). "Public Economics in the United States: How the Federal Government Analyzes and Influences the Economy". 1: Praeger.

Whitley, J. (2013) “Managing Illegal Immigration to the United States: How Effective is Enforcement?” Council on Foreign Relations Special Report.

Arnold, S.; Harmon, B.; Rose, S.; Whitley, J. (2013). “The Value of an Economic Price Adjustment Clause”. Defense Acquisition Research Journal. 20 (2): 174–193.

Whitley, J. (2012). “Five Methods for Measuring Unobserved Events: A Case Study of Federal Law Enforcement”. IBM Center for The Business of Government.