Prez’ intended nominees & Gulf Coast

President Donald J. Trump announced Sept. 2 his intent to nominate individuals to key positions within the administration. Among those intended nominees, which may be of interest to Gulf Coast environmental, maritime, and defense industries include:
* Former Navy Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet, whose last command was as Oceanographer of the Navy and Commander of the Navy Meteorology and Oceanography Command at Stennis Space Center, Miss., was listed as a intended nominee for Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
*Randy Reeves to be Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Memorial Affairs. Reeves currently serves as Executive Director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board and serves as President of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs. A native of rural Mississippi, he served as an enlisted man in the Air Force (1980-88) before earning a commission as a Navy officer (1988-2008). Retired Navy Cmdr. Reeves is a Gulf War Veteran with service in Operations Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom.
*Robert Behler to Director of Operational Test and Evaluation at the Defense Department. He previously worked as President/COO for SRC Inc. – an independent, not-for-profit research and development corporation – with a offices in 13 locations, including Eglin AFB, Fla. Behler is a retired Air Force major general.
*Matthew Z. Leopold of Florida to be an Assistant Administrator/General Counsel for the Environmental Protection Agency. Leopold is a lawyer in Tallahassee, Fla. He is the former General Counsel for the Florida Department of Environment Protection; and a former attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division. He represented the State and Federal governments in the case of the United States v. BP Exploration and Production, Inc., to address the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
*Thomas B. Modly of Maryland to be Under Secretary of the Navy. He is currently a managing director at Pricewaterhouse-Coopers’ Global Government and Public Services sector, and the firm’s Global Government Defense Network Leader, where he is responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of solutions for government defense clients worldwide. Modly, a U.S. Naval Academy grad, served in the Navy as a helicopter pilot. (Source: White House 09/02/17)