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Robert F. Hale (born 1947) was the United States Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) from 2009 until 2014 and before that the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller). Hale has over thirty years of experience as a professional financial manager serving in a wide range of national defense related roles. In addition to his most recent position as Under Secretary of Defense and his previous appointment as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Hale has also served in the National Security Division of the Congressional Budget Office and as Executive Director of the American Society of Military Comptrollers. Hale is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a former member of the Defense Business Board..
Hale was born on January 21, 1947.[1] He was raised in [1][2][3][4]
Hale spent three years on active duty as an officer in the United States Navy, serving first with a Navy security group in Okinawa, Japan and then in Washington, D.C. After completing his Navy tour in 1972, he took a civilian position at the Center for Naval Analyses, serving as an analyst and later a study director.[2][5] In 1975, Hale joined Logistics Management Institute or LMI, a not-for-profit consulting firm specializing in service to the Federal government. He was selected as a fellow of the institute, and eventually, headed LMI’s acquisition and grants management group.[1][3][6]
After leaving LMI, Hale took a key position at the Congressional Budget Office, non-partisan agency that supports the United States Congress. During his tenure at the Congressional Budget Office, Hale was responsible for analyzing major defense budget issues. He also frequently testified before Congressional committees regarding the results of budget studies conducted by the Congressional Budget Office. He headed the Congressional Budget Office’s National Security Division for twelve year before President Bill Clinton nominated Hale to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller).[1][3][4]
Hale served in the Clinton Administration as the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller) from 1994 to 2001. As chief financial officer for the United States Air Force, Hale was responsible for annual budgets of approximately $70 billion. During his tenure, Hale initiated important process changes that streamlined the Air Force’s financial management system to bring it into compliance with the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990.[1][3][4][5]
When he left the Air Force, the American Society of Military Comptrollers selected Hale to be the society's full-time Executive Director. The society offers career development opportunities and financial management training to its 18,000 members. During his tenure as Executive Director, Hale was a strong advocate for the society's professional certification program, a challenging four part examination leading to recognition as a Certified Defense Financial Manager. Hale planned and conducted the society’s National Professional Development Institute, an annual conference that offers training to over 3,500 participants. He was also responsible for publishing the society’s well respected professional journal, Armed Forces Comptroller.[1][3][4][7]
President Barack Obama nominated Hale to be Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) on January 9, 2009. During his confirmation hearing on January 15, 2009, Hale reminded the Senate Armed Services Committee that he had over thirty years of experience in defense related financial management. The United States Senate confirmed his appointment on February 9, 2009. As chief financial officer for the Department of Defense, Hale is the principal advisor to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on all fiscal matters including the development and execution of the department’s annual budget, which at time of his appointment, was over $600 billion (including war supplemental spending). Hale is also responsible for financial policy, accounting and financial reporting, financial management systems, and business modernization efforts within the defense department.[3][4][8]
During the United States Government shutdown in 2003, Hale was criticized for withholding survivor benefits to the families of at least 29 soldiers killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan. Hale said the Department of Defense did not have the legal authority to dispense public funds until Congress passed the defense appropriation bill.[9] This was resolved when Congress passed and President Obama signed a bill authorizing emergency payments to the families of deceased soldiers during the government shutdown.[10]
Hale is a Certified Defense Financial Manager and a past national president of the American Society of Military Comptrollers (1997–1998). He is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a former member of the Defense Business Board, a high-level Pentagon advisory panel. Hale was a member of the Task Force on the Future of Military Healthcare, which issued a report in June 2008 on how to create a cost-effective healthcare system for military members and their families.[1][3][5][11]
Hale was selected as a Booz Allen Fellow in November 2014. In that position, he serves as an advisor to the Booz Allen Hamilton corporate leadership.[12]
Hale has received several prestigious awards for his public service.[1] They include:
The Washington Post, ABC News, Mail Online, Good Morning America, The Daily Beast
United States Coast Guard, War of 1812, American Civil War, United States Army, United States Marine Corps
United States Department of the Navy, United States Army, United States Air Force, Title 10 of the United States Code, Defense Intelligence Agency
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, /e W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Fayetteville, North Carolina, Republican Party (United States)
New Jersey, Duke University, United States Secretary of the Air Force, Barack Obama, New York City
United States, United States Air Force, Utah, Oklahoma, North Carolina
Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, United States Department of Defense, Ronald Reagan, Office of the Secretary of Defense
United States Army, United States Department of Defense, United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, United States Marine Corps