Ed Salo, a professor of history at Arkansas State University, has been selected as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for the state of Arkansas.
People who serve as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary, who are selected by the secretary of the Army, are considered special government employees. They earn no wages or benefits but are provided a three-star protocol status.
“Our (Civilian Aides) are instrumental in building and maintaining relationships between the Army and communities across the country,” said Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth in the U.S. Army’s announcement of the appointment of Salo and four others.
Roger D. Combs of the Civilian Aide to the Secretary program office said, “Salo’s dedication to the Army and its community is evident in his role as a (Civilian Aide), where he works tirelessly to protect its values. He considers it the highest honor to strengthen the bonds between our Army, our citizens and our democratic institutions.
“I am confident all of you will find Salo to be a huge asset in your state,” he added.
Salo, 52, said he grew up in a military family, with his father serving in the Army for more than 20 years. His siblings have also served in the military.
He has worked at various military bases where he interacted with both civilians and military personnel.
At Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, which he joined in July 2014, Salo teaches military history classes to ROTC cadets and is associate chair in the Department of History. In addition to his duties on campus, Salo is a host of the “Sea Control Podcast” for the Center for International Maritime Security, serves on the New America’s Nuclear Security Futures Group and is a research fellow for the Modern War Institute at West Point and the Joint Special Operations University.
He has attended the military history instructors’ course at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.
When asked what he brings to the appointment, Salo said in a statement: “I bring my skills from academia, teaching, business, industry, and politics along with a love of the nation and its military to this post. I know the Army is evolving to meet the current threats of the world and still healing and changing from the past 20 years of continued combat operations.”
Salo has a doctorate in public history from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro in 2009; an M.A. in history, also from Middle Tennessee State, in 1998 (his thesis was “Some People Call Me a Space Cowboy: The Image of the Astronaut in Life Magazine, 1959-1972); and a Bachelor of Science in history and political science from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City in 1993.
