Riga, May 19, 2014 – The U.S. Secretary of the Army John H. McHugh will visit Latvia from May 19 to 20. This visit is part of a larger regional visit, which also includes stops in Estonia and Lithuania.
While in Latvia, Secretary McHugh will meet with Latvian Minister of Defense Raimonds Vējonis and Brigadier General Juris Zeibārts, and will hold a joint press availability with State Secretary Jānis Sārts at 9:30 on May 20 at the Ministry of Defense. The Secretary will also visit Lielvārde Air Base to meet with Soldiers there, including U.S. paratroopers from the 173rd airborne brigade, U.S. Soldiers from the Michigan National Guard and Latvian Soldiers.
U.S. Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh was sworn in as the 21st Secretary of the Army on Sep. 21, 2009. As Secretary of the Army, he has statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and equipment acquisition, communications, and financial management. Secretary McHugh is responsible for the Department of the Army’s annual budget and supplemental of over $200 billion. He leads a work force of more than 1.1 million active duty, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve Soldiers, 221,000 Department of the Army civilian employees, and 213,000 contracted service personnel.
