Casey Wardynski was confirmed as assistant secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs on Wednesday, with Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) applauding the former Huntsville City Schools superintendent’s accomplishment.

Wardynski was nominated by President Donald Trump in June. He was confirmed by the Senate on a voice vote in one of the 115th Congress’ final acts.

In his new role, Wardynski will be charged with overseeing the civilian and military manpower, human resources, soldier records and reserve and active component force structure.

Prior to careers in education administration and the private sector, he spent more than 30 years as an Army officer, serving as director of the Army’s office of economic and manpower analysis along the way. When nominated, Wardynski was CEO of a leading national events technology and analytics firm.

Senator Shelby lauded the confirmation as “[e]xcellent news.”

“His 30 years of experience in the Army make him highly qualified to serve in this new capacity. Looking forward to working with him to best protect our nation,” Shelby said in a tweet.

The new assistant secretary’s past leadership in the Army also included leading award-winning marketing and recruiting programs.

Wardynski received his bachelor’s degree at West Point and later earned a master’s degree from Harvard University’s JFK School of Government and a doctorate in policy analysis from the Frederick S. Pardee RAND Graduate School.

In a statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee during his hearing in August, Wardynski pledged, “If confirmed, I will bring to my duties, a heart for military service, Soldiers, and their families, tempered by my experiences and the inspiration and encouragement of loved ones.”

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn