John M. McHugh - Secretary of The Army

Secretary of The Army

On June 2, 2009, McHugh was nominated to the position of Secretary of the Army, by President Barack Obama. He was sworn in as the 21st Secretary of the Army at a Pentagon ceremony on September 21, 2009. Interestingly, McHugh, a Republican appointed by a Democratic president, succeeded Pete Geren, a Democrat appointed by a Republican president. McHugh never served in any branch of the military.

In March 2010 McHugh said that he would not pursue discharges against soldiers who tell him privately that they are gay. McHugh said he has talked to openly gay soldiers as part of assessing the force's opinion on the repeal of a controversial law that bans openly gay people from serving in the military. Under then current law, known as “Don't ask, don’t tell,” service members who declare that they are gay would have to be discharged, but McHugh indicated he would not pursue any discharges against soldiers who make those statements in private conversations with him.

In May 2010, McHugh was granted an honorary degree from the State University of New York Board of Trustees, to be presented during the commencement ceremonies at SUNY Oswego. When the decision to award McHugh the honorary degree was made public, the SUNY Oswego Pride Alliance, an LGBT student group, organized a protest to be held on campus during the ceremony. Following weeks of debate on campus, which included a Student Association Senate resolution condemning the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, McHugh withdrew from the ceremony, stating, "it is obvious that my presence at the ceremony might well have a disruptive effect."