Nomination of James H. Webb, Jr., To Be an Assistant Secretary of Defense

The President today announced his intention to nominate James H. Webb, Jr., to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense (Reserve Affairs). This is a new position.

Mr. Webb is an author and journalist; he recently wrote "A Country Such as This," which has been nominated for the Pulitzer and Pen-Faulkner awards. He was assistant minority counsel to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs in the U.S. Congress in 1977-1978. In 1979 he became the first visiting writer at the United States Naval Academy. He returned to the Congress in 1979 to become the chief minority counsel for the Veterans Affairs Committee. Since 1981 he has been a full-time writer.

Mr. Webb graduated from the United States Naval Academy (B.A., 1968) and from the Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., 1975). He is married, has three children, and resides in Arlington, VA. He was born February 9, 1946, in St. Joseph, MO.