BY REBECCA KHEEL

03/16/17  ΤΗΕ HILL

 

 

 

President Trump on Thursday nominated a top Boeing executive to be the second highest-ranking civilian at the Pentagon.

Trump announced Patrick Shanahan’s nomination to be deputy Defense secretary, along with nominations for five other Pentagon roles, beginning to fill offices that have sat empty since the inauguration.

Shanahan has been Boeing’s senior vice president for supply chain and operations since April. In that role, he’s responsible for the company’s manufacturing operations and supplier management functions.

Prior to that, he was the senior vice president of airplane programs at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, where he oversaw the 737, 747, 767, 777 and 787 programs.

He’s also been the vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems and before that, the vice president and general manager for Boeing Rotorcraft Systems in Philadelphia. In that role, he responsible for U.S. Army Aviation programs and site activities in Philadelphia and Mesa, Ariz., where facilities in Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, the CH-47 Chinook and the AH-64D Apache attack helicopter.

Shanahan will take over the deputy post from Bob Work, who served in the Obama administration and stayed on in an interim role until his replacement is in place.

Trump was critical of Boeing during the transition, saying costs for the replacement Air Force One program — two new 747s — are “out of control” and threatening to cancel the program.

But Trump’s tune appeared to change after meetings with the CEO of Boeing, and Trump has claimed he’s cut costs on the Air Force One program.

Defense Secretary James Mattis ordered Work to conduct a review of the Air Force One program in January to identify potential savings. It’s unclear at what stage the review is in and whether Shanahan would need to recuse himself should the review be ongoing when he takes office.

Trump previously owned stock in Boeing. A spokesman said in December that he’s sold it, but offered no proof

 

 

Source :http://thehill.com/policy/defense/324301-trump-nominates-boeing-vp-to-to-deputy-defense-secretary