Thomas E . White Thomas E . White , Jr . ( born December 14 , 1943 in Detroit , Michigan ) is an American businessman and former United States Army officer who served as senior executive at the now collapsed Enron and as the United States Secretary of the Army from May 31 , 2001 until April 25 , 2003 . Military career and education . In 1963 White graduated from Cass Technical High School in Detroit . He was a part of the JROTC program at Cass Tech , which is highly ranked every year in military competition . In 1967 , White graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned in the United States Army . In 1974 , he received a degree in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School , Monterey , California . In 1984 , he attended the United States Army War College , Carlisle , Pennsylvania . During a long military career , that included two tours of duty in Vietnam , he served in a variety of capacities including : In 1989 , White was appointed executive assistant to the then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell , where he was described in The Washington Post by a mutual friend as Powell ' s " alter ego " in " a job that requires tremendous political sophistication . " In July , 1990 White retired from the Army with the rank of Brigadier General . Business career . In 1990 White entered the private sector as Vice - Chairman of Enron Energy Services ( E . E . S . ) , a subsidiary of the Enron Corporation responsible for providing energy outsource solutions . According to his original Department of Defense biography White was responsible for the delivery component of energy management services , which included ; He was responsible for the Enron Engineering and Construction Company , which managed an extensive construction portfolio with domestic and international projects . White also served as a member of Enron ' s Executive Committee and was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Enron Operations Corporation . Appointment as Secretary of the Army . White was a controversial choice for Government service despite his long military service due to his most recent appointment at the Enron Corporation . U . S . Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld however had decided to make corporate experience one of the key requirements in his appointees . White was sworn in on May 31 , 2001 as 18th Secretary of the Army and was responsible for all matters relating to Army manpower , personnel , reserve affairs , installations , environmental issues , weapons systems and equipment acquisition , communications , and financial management . He led a work - force of over one million active duty , National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers and 270 , 000 civilian employees , he had stewardship over 15 million acres ( 60 , 000 km² ) of land and an annual budget of nearly $ 70 billion . White was immediately embroiled in controversy regarding his previous employment with Enron and what he may have known about some of Enron ' s questionable business practices . His retention of a sizable amount of Enron stock fueled the perception of a conflict interest . In 2002 , White became involved with a dispute with Donald Rumsfeld over the proposed cancellation of the Army ' s Crusader artillery project . White supported the Army view that the Crusader was vital to the Army ' s future and circulated " talking points " for congressional discussions extolling its value . However , Rumsfeld decided it was not suited for wars of the future and eventually canceled the program . In 2003 , White refused to publicly rebuke General Eric Shinseki for his statement to the Senate Armed services committee that it would take " something in the order of several hundred thousand soldiers " to occupy Iraq after invasion . This , combined with White ' s actions on the Crusader , disagreements with Rumsfeld on the Stryker project , and his distracting association with Enron including the selling of restricted Enron stock through “ private investments ” ( derivatives ) , prompted Rumsfeld to demand White ' s resignation . White resigned on April 25 , 2003 . Controversy . While serving as Vice Chairman of Enron Energy Services White had actively pursued military contracts for the company and in 1999 had secured a prototype deal at Fort Hamilton for privatising the power supply of army bases . Enron had been the only bidder for this deal after White had controversially used his government and military contacts to secure key concessions . In his first speech just “ two weeks after he became secretary of the Army , White vowed to speed up the awarding of such contracts ” ; as the Enron Ft . Hamilton contract , despite the fact that he still held a considerable interest in Enron . A Pentagon spokeswoman responded to suggestions of a possible conflict of interests by saying that “ Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sees no conflict and has complete confidence in the Army secretary ” . The Washington Post reported that in late October 2001 , White made numerous phone calls to Enron executives including Vice President Jude Rolfes , former CEO Jeff Skilling and President current CEO Ken Lay . Shortly after the calls were made , White unloaded 200 , 000 Enron shares for $ 12 million . The L . A . Times reported that White had brief conversations with Rumsfeld in November and Powell in December , the focus of which were " a concern on their part for the impact that the bankruptcy of Enron may have had on my personal well - being . My response in both cases was that I had suffered significant personal losses but that I would persevere . " " The New York Times " reported that in late January 2002 , Rep . Henry Waxman requested a meeting with White regarding the military contracts and the irregularities with the accounting at E . E . S . stating “ you are in a unique position because you are the person in government who has the most intimate knowledge of Enron ” . Furthermore the Washington Post reported that at this time White still held interests in Enron , including a claim on 50 , 000 stock options and an annuity paid by the company , despite having promised to divest himself at his confirmation hearing 8 months earlier . This earned him a rebuke from Sens . Carl Levin ( D - Mich . ) and John Warner ( R - Va . ) of the Senate Armed Services Committee . He was also accused in the Washington Post of Misuse of Government Property , by allegedly using military jets for personal trips for himself and his wife . In July , following news reports of the company ’ s involvement in the 2000 - 2001 California electricity crisis , White denied his involvement under oath before the Senate Commerce Committee .