Christine Wormuth
Secretary of the Army
Christine Elizabeth Wormuth was born in April 1969 in San Diego, California. She earned an undergraduate degree in political science from Williams College in Massachusetts and received a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Maryland.
She entered government service as a Presidential Management Intern in President Clinton’s administration, spending the next six and a half years as a civil servant in the Defense Department. Later, she worked as a government consultant and then as a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
During President Obama’s administration, she served in the National Security Council as the Special Assistant to the President and the Defense Policy and Strategy Senior director. She became the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense. President Obama nominated her to serve as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. She was confirmed by the Senate in a voice vote. At the conclusion of her tenure, she was appointed the director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center.
President Joe Biden nominated Wormuth to serve as the Secretary of the Army, the first woman to hold that position. She was unanimously confirmed by the Senate and assumed her position on May 28, 2021.
In the News…
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth recently stated that the U.S. is increasing production efforts both in support of Ukraine but also in munitions the U.S. needs for its own stockpile. She said the Army is working with industry on modernization strategies intended to “sustain, upgrade and deliver” high volumes of precision munitions.
“We went from about 14,000 munitions per month to production rates of about 20,000 per month. We expect to be up to 75,000 by mid 2025. We are doing that in similar ways with Javelins. We are trying to increase those production lines and pull those to the left as much as possible,” the army secretary said. “Throughout the process of arming Ukrainians, we have been careful to balance their needs with our need to stay ready. We’re working closely with industry to increase production capacity on things like GMLRS, Javelin and 155mm artillery.”
“We put $ 1.2 billion in the ‘24 budget to invest in our industrial base and we’ve invested $ 2.1 billion into munitions, from GMLRS up to Patriot. We want to make sure we can continue to assist Ukrainians. There are things like Patriots which the Ukrainians have used to very good effect which they would like more of. We have to weigh carefully as Patriot is a finite quantity,” Secretary Wormuth explained.
