Paul McHale Paul F . McHale , Jr . ( born July 26 , 1950 ) is an American politician . From 2003 to 2009 , he served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense . Additionally , from 1993 to 1999 , he represented Pennsylvania ' s 15th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives . In 1992 , McHale defeated former U . S . Congressman Don Ritter for his seat representing the Lehigh Valley in the U . S . Congress . Currently , McHale is the President of Civil Support International LLC , which is a consulting firm that advises private contractor s and government agencies in matters related to disaster preparedness , crisis response , and homeland defense and security . Education and Military Service . McHale was born in Bethlehem , Pennsylvania , where he graduated from Liberty High School . McHale received a Bachelor of Arts from Lehigh University in 1972 and a J . D . from Georgetown University Law Center in 1977 . He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1972 to 1974 . He has been a member of the Marine Corps Reserve since 1974 , and retired with the rank of colonel in 2007 . He served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm during the Gulf War . McHale also served combat tours in Saudi Arabia ( 1990 ) , Kuwait ( 1991 ) , and Afghanistan ( 2007 ) . His personal military decorations include the Baryal Medal for his service in Afghanistan , the Bronze Star , the Legion of Merit , the Meritorious Service Medal and the Navy Commendation Medal ( 2nd award ) . In October 2006 , McHale was recalled to active Marine Corps duty to deploy to Afghanistan . For McHale ' s service as both a Congressman and Assistant Secretary of Defense , McHale was awarded the DoD Distinguished Public Service Medal - the department ' s highest civilian honor - by each of the past three Secretaries of Defense . Politics . McHale was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991 , resigning in order to volunteer for active duty in the Gulf War . In 1992 , he ran for Congress and defeated 14 - year incumbent Don Ritter . He gained the support of significant numbers of Democratic , Republican and Independent voters in the Lehigh Valley in the 1992 upset election when he defeated former Congressman Don Ritter . He was reelected twice . While serving in Congress , McHale was an active member of the House Armed Services Committee and he co - founded the National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus . McHale gained prominence in 1998 when he called for Bill Clinton to resign . He voted for three of the four articles of impeachment against Clinton . He was one of only five Democrats who voted for at least one article , and had by far the most liberal voting record of those who supported impeachment . The other four Democrats who voted for at least one article were Virgil Goode , Ralph Hall , Charlie Stenholm , and Gene Taylor , all of whom had very conservative voting records . Goode and Hall subsequently became Republicans . Assistant Secretary of Defense . He assumed his former position as the Assistant Secretary of Defense ( ASD ) for Homeland Defense ( HD ) , later to become Homeland Defense and Americas ' Security Affairs ( HD & ASA ) , on February 7 , 2003 . He left in January 2009 at the end of the George W . Bush administration . The first to hold this position , Mr . McHale supervised all homeland defense activities for the U . S . Department of Defense and represented the Department of Defense at the highest levels of U . S . domestic crisis planning . Additionally , as the ASD ( HD & ASA ) , he was responsible for DoD Critical Infrastructure Protection , civilian oversight of the two combatant commands in North America and South America , Western Hemisphere affairs , and the transfer of technologies to homeland security use pursuant to Section 1401 of the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act . Family . He is married to Maj Gen ( Ret ) Martha Rainville , the first woman in the history of the U . S . National Guard to serve as a state Adjutant General and a former Congressional candidate from Vermont . He has three children , Matthew , Mary , and Luke , from a previous marriage to Katherine Pecka McHale .