![]() ![]() ![]() Carney, chief of naval operations–to prepare a paper on overall defense policy. Twining, Air Force chief of staff and Admiral Robert B. Ridgway, Army chief of staff General Nathan F. The president inaugurated planning for the New Look in July 1953 by asking the incoming members of the JCS–Admiral Arthur W. The president entered office with strong convictions about the need to reorient the nation's security policy, convictions reflecting his interest in maintaining a staunch defense while cutting government expenditures and balancing the budget. Eisenhower had criticized the Truman policies during the 1952 campaign, arguing that they were reactive rather than positive and that they forced the United States to compete with the Soviet Union on terms laid down by the Russians. Internal reorganization was only one of several major changes during Wilson's tenure, foremost among them the "New Look" defense concept. The directive also clarified the role of the JCS chairman and his authority over the Joint Staff while making clear that assignment of major tasks to the Joint Staff was the prerogative of the full JCS. In July 1954, to complement the 1953 reorganization, Wilson issued a directive to the JCS, the most important provision of which stated that "the Joint Staff work of each of the Chiefs of Staff shall take priority over all other duties"–namely their tasks as chiefs of individual services. In his first annual report, he noted that the service secretaries were his principal assistants decentralizing operational responsibility to them would make for effective exercise of civilian authority throughout DoD. Wilson took advantage of the reorganization to decentralize administration, giving the service secretaries more responsibility and importance. He looked on the assistant secretaries as his "vice presidents'' and tried to run the Pentagon like an industrial corporation. Wilson welcomed the reorganization plan, which became effective on 30 June 1953, as facilitating more efficient management of the Department of Defense. 6, which made changes in OSD, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the chain of command. They succeeded in securing from Congress approval in June 1953 of Reorganization Plan No. During the hearings, when asked if as secretary of defense he could make a decision adverse to the interests of General Motors, Wilson answered affirmatively but added that he could not conceive of such a situation "because for years I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa." Later this statement was often garbled when quoted, suggesting that Wilson had said simply, "What's good for General Motors is good for the country." Although finally approved by a Senate vote of 77 to 6, Wilson began his duties in the Pentagon with his standing somewhat diminished by the confirmation debate.īoth Wilson and Eisenhower entered office committed to reorganizing the Department of Defense. Reluctant to sell the stock, valued at more than $2.5 million, Wilson agreed to do so under committee pressure. Wilson's nomination sparked a major controversy during his confirmation hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee, specifically over his large stockholdings in General Motors. He was still head of General Motors when President Eisenhower selected him as secretary of defense in January 1953. During World War II, Wilson directed the company's huge defense production effort, which earned him a U.S. By January 1941 he was the president of General Motors. In 1919 Wilson moved to Remy Electric, a General Motors subsidiary, as chief engineer and sales manager. After earning a degree in electrical engineering from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1909, he joined the Westinghouse Electric Company in Pittsburgh, where eventually he supervised the engineering of automobile electrical equipment, and during World War I, the development of dynamotors and radio generators for the Army and Navy. Wilson was born on 18 July 1890 in Minerva, Ohio. As Eisenhower was superbly equipped, and inclined, to give close personal attention to national security affairs, the new secretary was expected to concentrate on defense management rather than formulation of basic national security policy. Wilson, had achieved notable success as a business executive. His choice for secretary of defense, Charles E. Eisenhower, one of the nation's best known and most respected military leaders. If this data is unavailable or inaccurate and you own or represent this business, click here for more information on how you may be able to correct it.The election of 1952 brought to the White House Dwight D. ![]() VIEW ADDITIONAL DATA Select from over 115 networks below to view available data about this business. ![]()
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