Louis Edward Caldera

LOUIS EDWARD CALDERA, the eldest son of Mexican immigrants, was born in El Paso, Texas on April 1, 1956 and raised in Whittier, California; appointed to the U.S. Military Academy by the Honorable Chester Holifield, 1974; graduated USMA and commissioned a second lieutenant in the Military Police Corps, 1978; left Army active duty as a captain, 1983, and the U.S. Army Reserve, 1991; graduated with a J.D. from the Harvard Law School and an MBA from the Harvard Business School, 1987; practiced law in Los Angeles, California at the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, 1987-1990; married Eva Orlebeke, 1991; appointed a Deputy County Counsel for Los Angeles County, 1991-1992; elected to three terms in the California Legislature, State Assembly, from Los Angeles, and chaired various committees, including the Banking Committee and the Revenue and Taxation Committee, Nov 1992-Sep 1997; appointed by President Clinton, with Senate confirmation, to serve as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, The Corporation for National and Community Service, 1997; sworn in as Secretary of the Army on July 2, 1998; received honorary doctorate, Norwich University, 2000; during his tenure the Army began its historic Transformation from a Cold War legacy force to a rapidly deployable Information Age Army, while supporting U.S. leadership in the world as the nation’s premier engagement force, including as peacekeepers in the Balkans; reorganized the Army’s marketing and advertising programs to successfully reverse recruiting shortfalls; stressed investment in upgrading enlisted soldiers’ skills and education creating the Army University Access Online distance education internet portal for soldiers.

Photograph, Louis Edward Caldera

 


page created 13 March 2001


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