Claude M. Bolton Jr.

Army
Claude M. Bolton Jr.
Assistant Secretary for Acquisition,
Logistics and Technology

The Army is at the center of the Iraq war and the federal government's reconstruction efforts there. And as the agency's top acquisition official, Claude M. Bolton Jr.'s responsibilities are daunting. He faces not only the typical challenges of federal acquisition officers, including recruiting and training a highly skilled contracting workforce, but also the difficulties of running the Defense Department's procurement operation during war. Bolton, who was appointed to his position in 2002, manages a multi-billion-dollar acquisition program that provides support services and weapons systems to troops stationed around the world.

A retired Air Force major general, Bolton was an interesting pick for the Army acquisition job. Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council, says it's "very unusual" for a service member to retire from one branch of the military and then enter another as a senior political civilian. Bolton is one example of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's "effort to create a much more harmonized acquisition corps across the services," says Soloway, who was deputy undersecretary for acquisition reform at the Pentagon during the Clinton administration and has worked with Bolton.

Before retiring in 2001 from the Air Force, Bolton was commander of the Air Force Security Assistance Center at Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. He managed multibillion-dollar foreign military sales in that job and was heavily involved in acquisition reforms during the 1990s. He oversaw the service's fighter planes, including the F-22. During his 32-year career in the Air Force, Bolton has served in various positions, including squadron and wing safety officer, instructor pilot, and acquisition professional.

Soloway calls Bolton "very low key, but very direct," and "not one who gets or seeks a lot of publicity." Soloway says even when the two have disagreed on issues, Bolton is always collegial. "His whole focus has been finding better and faster ways to support the troops," he says.

Bolton has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska, a master's in management from Troy State University, and a master's in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.