Tag Archives: Asian and Pacific Security Affairs

Confirmations: Wood (USCD), Nealon (Honduras), Shear (DOD/APSA)

July 21, 2014 By in Ambassadors, Confirmations, Congress, FSOs, Top Ranks, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , , , , , ,

— Domani Spero
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On July 15, the U.S. Senate confirmed the following executive nominations for the State Department:

 

On July 17, the U.S. Senate also confirmed the nomination of Ambassador David Shear as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs in the Department of Defense. Ambassador Shear was most recently the chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam.

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Ambassador David Shear: From Vietnam to DOD’s Asian and Pacific Security Affairs (APSA)

January 13, 2014 By in Ambassadors, Defense Department, FSOs, Nominations, Obama, Officially In, Top Ranks Tags: , , , , ,

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— Domani Spero 

Last month, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Ambassador David B. Shear to be the next Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs in the Department of Defense. The WH released the following brief bio:

Ambassador David B. Shear is the U.S. Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a position he has held since 2011.  From 2009 to 2011, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the Department of State (DOS).  Previously, he was the Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at DOS.  Mr. Shear joined the Foreign Service in 1982 and has served in Sapporo, Beijing, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, and Washington, D.C.

Mr. Shear received a B.A. from Earlham College and an M.A from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and has attended Waseda University, Taiwan National University, and Nanjing University.

US Embassy Vietnam: CODEL McCain - Jan 18-20, 2012

Ambassador David Shear with Senator John McCain
US Embassy Vietnam: CODEL McCain – Jan 18-20, 2012

APSA is responsible for oversight of security cooperation programs and foreign military sales programs within the regions under its supervision. It looks like it covers East Asia, South & Southeast Asia and Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.

If confirmed. Ambassador Shear would succeed Mark Lippert who was appointed to the position in 2011 and confirmed by the Senate in 2012. In May 2013, Mr. Limpert became the Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense. Dr. Peter R. Lavoy who served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs (APSA) is reportedly leaving this month. Ambassador Derek J. Mitchell, the current U.S. Ambassador to Burma was previously the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for APSA.

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Related item:
December 19, 2013 | President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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