Esper new Pentagon chief

Secretary of the Army Mark Esper, who was chosen by President Donald Trump to be the new acting Pentagon chief, is a former military man who moved to the defense industry. “I know Mark, and have no doubt he will do a fantastic job!” Trump wrote in a tweet announcing his appointment. Unlike his predecessor in the post, who had no military experience, 55-year-old Esper who served in the 1991 Gulf War.

He was part of the famous 101st Airborne Division of the US Army, which was recently honored at the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings at Normandy. He is also close to top US diplomat Mike Pompeo, with whom he studied at the prestigious West Point military academy. Both men graduated in the same year, 1986. And Esper is familiar with the US Congress, having advised several senators, including Chuck Hagel, who later became secretary of defense.

Esper had been a senior executive of the Raytheon defense firm for seven years when he was tapped by Trump to be the secretary of the army in 2017. Since then, the reserved man, who is married with three grown children, has been tirelessly combing American universities to recruit young people for increasingly technological Army jobs. He has also been in charge of equipping and training the US Army. Esper’s name had been circulating as a potential replacement to former Marine general Jim Mattis after his resignation as secretary of defense in December.