, August 2002 England started his business career in 1966 at
Honeywell where he was an engineer on the
Project Gemini space program. He worked for
Litton Industries as a program manager on the
E-2C Hawkeye aircraft for the
United States Navy. He was also CEO of
GRE Consultants. By 1977 he was employed by
General Dynamics Fort Worth Division where he held various posts including Director of Avionics. He was later named as the Vice President of Engineering, and later President and general manager, of
General Dynamics Land Systems Division, eventually transitioning back to General Dynamics Fort Worth as Division President. England remained in that post when General Dynamics sold the Fort Worth Division to
Lockheed; later becoming President of that corporation for four years. England returned to General Dynamics as Executive Vice President of the
Combat Systems Group. He served from 1997 to 2001 as Executive Vice President of General Dynamics where he had overall responsibility for Information Systems and International sectors. England transferred from the business world to government during the administration of U.S. President
George W. Bush serving in a number of key roles, having previously served as a member of the
Defense Science Board.
72nd Secretary of the Navy England was a controversial choice for
Secretary of the Navy due to his lack of any military service experience and his long career in the defense industry including his most recent appointment as Executive Vice President of
General Dynamics Corporation. Critics such as
William D. Hartung, Head of the
Arms Trade Resource Center, felt that it was inappropriate to appoint businessmen whose companies would be the prime benefactor of any increase in defense spending. U.S. Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld however had decided to make corporate experience one of the key requirements in his appointees as was reported in the
Washington Times. This policy led to England's appointment alongside other leading industrialists including
James Roche and
Thomas E. White. England was sworn in on May 24, 2001. He is reported in
The Washington Post as having announced that one of his key aims in the role was the development of "futuristic weapons to counter new types of threats emerging in the post-Soviet world." , and
Thomas E. White The Washington Post reports that during his time in this role "England has joined with Adm.
Vernon Clark, chief of naval operations, in directing some of the most sweeping change the service has seen in decades." The report goes on to list the following; • Retiring dozens of ships • Shedding thousands of jobs, • Consolidating Navy and Marine Corps tactical aviation forces • Juggling crew deployments to keep some ships at sea longer • Devising plans to surge more warships into action faster during a crisis. By an instruction dated May 31, 2002, England directed all
United States Navy ships to fly the
first navy jack in honor of those killed in the
September 11, 2001 attacks. The jack is to be flown for the duration of the
war on terrorism. England left the post in January 2003 for a new position within the administration.
1st Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security as Secretary of the Navy On January 24, 2003, England took up his new role as Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security in the newly formed
United States Department of Homeland Security. Although England's stint in this post was brief, a close associate quoted in
The Washington Post states that it "broadened his exposure to the White House and his 'contact base' in Washington."
73rd Secretary of the Navy England was recalled to once again take on the role of Secretary of the Navy after just a few months following the suicide of his nominated replacement
Colin R. McMillan. England was sworn in on October 1, 2003, becoming only the second person to hold the post twice and the first to serve back-to-back terms. According to a close associate quoted in
The Washington Post, England's time in the
United States Department of Homeland Security had "expanded [his] view of the administration's war on terrorism", which led to a number of initiatives that he pursued in his second term at the Pentagon including stronger ties between the Navy and
Coast Guard and a greater assistance to marines on the front lines in Iraq. General
Richard B. Myers and his wife Mary Jo Myers pose next to a model of a
San Antonio-class amphibious dock landing ship (LPD) USS Somerset (LPD 25). in March 2008 ,
James Roche and
Thomas E. White In June 2004, a
Supreme Court ruling granted prisoners at
Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba the right to plead their cases in U.S. courts. As the
BBC pointed out the 600 detainees had been in legal limbo since their capture during the
2001 invasion of Afghanistan, during which time only three detainees had been charged and several dozen had been sent back home following diplomatic pressure from other nations. England was appointed to head the review that was conducted in secret by a panel consisting of three military officers to whom prisoners were given the chance to provide facts to support their case for release. England made clear that "The question is: Are they still threats to America? It's not guilt or innocence." As a result of this review 38 prisoners were released due to a lack of evidence that England referred to as ‘thin files’. England was succeeded as Secretary of the Navy by
Donald C. Winter.
Deputy Secretary of Defense England was nominated as
Deputy Secretary of Defense on May 13, 2005, and immediately took up the role in an acting capacity while awaiting his confirmation. His replacement of
Paul Wolfowitz has been looked upon favorably in the media with
The Washington Post commenting, "England has a reputation for being less ideological than Wolfowitz and more attuned to the administrative demands of the Pentagon's second-ranking civilian job'" but critics still maintain that his prime loyalty remains to the defense industry. England was recess appointed to the full Deputy Secretary position on January 4, 2006, by President Bush. He resigned with the incoming
Obama administration.
Acting Secretary of Defense On January 22, 2009,
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told reporters he would hand off his duties to Gordon R. England during his January 23 surgery. On January 23, 2009, while Gates underwent two hours of surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left biceps, Gordon England was in charge of the Pentagon. England continued this service while Gates recovered from the surgery. During this time, England was the acting Defense Secretary. ==Other activities and awards==