WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden says he will nominate a former senior Pentagon official to be the first woman to lead the Army.

If confirmed by the Senate as Army secretary, Christine Wormuth would be one of the more powerful officials in a defense establishment long dominated by men.

She would work with the Army’s chief of staff, Gen. James McConville, who does not command soldiers but is responsible, along with the Army secretary, for training and equipping them.

The White House says Wormuth served as Under Secretary of Defense (Policy) during the Obama-Biden Administration, the third most senior civilian position in the Department of Defense. She also served as the Senior Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council and as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Civil Support.

Wormuth is currently Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation. She also teaches as an adjunct professor in Georgetown University’s graduate program in security studies and serves on the honorary advisory board of the Leadership Committee for Women in National Security (LCWINS).

Biden has not yet nominated anyone to serve as Air Force or Navy secretary. Many other Pentagon positions that require Senate confirmation also have yet to be filled.