David O. Cooke
Encyclopedia
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
civilian administrator who served under twelve Secretaries of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
over a period of 45 years. Often called the "Mayor of the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
", Cooke was the department's highest-ranking career civil servant as Director of Administration and Management
Director of Administration and Management (DoD)
The Director of Administration and Management, or DA&M, is a position within the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Department of Defense...
, and as Director of Washington Headquarters Services
Washington Headquarters Services
Washington Headquarters Services was established as a U.S. Department of Defense Field Activity on October 1, 1977 as part of a DoD headquarters streamlining initiative. Approximately 1,300 WHS staff are organized into 7 Directorates and 2 Offices...
. He was also responsible for administering the oath of office
Oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations...
for many key department officials.
Early life
Cooke was born in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
in 1920. He graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1941, and earned his masters degree from the State University of New York at Albany in 1942. He served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and later earned his law degree from The George Washington University in 1951. That year, he went back on active duty and served in a number of posts until he retired as a Navy captain in 1968.
Government career
Cooke had a federal government career of more than 45 years in the Pentagon from 1957 to 2002. Notable positions he served in include Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Administration from 1971 to 1988, Director of the Washington Headquarters Services since 1977, and Director of Administration and Management in the Office of the Secretary of DefenseOffice of the Secretary of Defense
The Office of the Secretary of Defense is a headquarters-level staff of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It is the principal civilian staff element of the Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out authority, direction and control of the Department...
since 1988.
Cooke was involved with Defense Department management issues since 1958, when he served on Defense Secretary Neil McElroy's task force on Department of Defense reorganization. He served under Defense Secretary Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
and helped institute changes in departmental management. Following his Navy retirement, Cooke headed the Department's Office of Organizational and Management Planning, a job that evolved into his final post. In this position, Cooke was responsible for the physical plant and personnel administration of the Pentagon. His responsibilities for security, maintenance, and operations in the building earned him the title "Mayor."
Death and legacy
On June 22, 2002, Cooke died from injuries that were a result of a car accidentCar accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
on June 6. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, overlooking the Pentagon. His wife of 52 years, Marion McDonald Cooke, died in 1999. The couple had raised three children, Michele C. Sutton of Springfield, and David and Lot Cooke, both of Fairfax. He also had two grandchildren at the time of his death. Elizabeth M. Cooke, who was born in 2000, and David B. Cooke who was born in 2002 a week before Cooke's death (both children from David O. Cooke jr.).
In 2005, the "David O. Cooke Excellence in Public Administration Award" was established in Cooke's honor to recognize a DoD employee with three to 10 years of federal service who occupies a non-managerial position and exhibits great potential as a future federal executive.
Recognitions
Cooke received numerous awards for his work. He received the Defense Distinguished Service MedalDefense Distinguished Service Medal
The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a United States military award which is presented for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to national security or defense of the United States...
seven times. He also received the Defense Outstanding Public Service Medal and the Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal two times. Both medals are rarely awarded to career civil servants. Other awards included the NAACP Benjamin L. Hooks Distinguished Service Award (1994); the Government Executive Leadership Award (1995); the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award (1995); the National Public Service Award (1997); the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service
President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service
Established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on 27 June 1957 by , the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service was created to allow the President to recognize civilian officers or employees of the federal government who have made contributions "so outstanding that the officer...
(1998); the John O. Marsh Public Service Award (2000); the Senior Executives Association Board of Directors Award (2001); and the American Society for Public Administration
American Society for Public Administration
The American Society for Public Administration is a membership association in the United States sponsoring conferences and providing professional services primarily to those who study the implementation of government policy, public administration, and, to a lesser degree, programs of civil society...
Elmer B. Staats
Elmer B. Staats
Elmer Boyd Staats was a public servant whose career from the late 1930s to the early 1980s was primarily associated with the Bureau of the Budget and the GAO. Staats was born June 6, 1914, in Richfield, Kansas, to Wesley F. and Maude Staats...
Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Service (2002).
External links
- Presentation of the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service to David O. "Doc" Cooke, As Delivered by Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, The Pentagon Auditorium, Thursday, January 21, 1999