Bush nominates new Army secretary

President Bush nominated May 24 Preston “Pete” Geren to be secretary of the Army, according to a White House statement.If the Senate confirms him, Geren, who is now the acting secretary, would succeed Francis Harvey. Harvey resigned in early March amid a scandal over substandard outpatient housing conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington that also cost senior hospital generals their jobs.Geren joined the Defense Department in September 2001 as special assistant to the Defense secretary for “interagency initiatives, legislative affairs and special projects,” according to a biography posted on the Pentagon’s Web site.He was a member of the Congress from Texas’ 12th congressional district from 1989 to 1997. During that time, he served on the House Armed Services Committee.