Free Republic

President-elect Donald Trump will nominate former infantry officer, billionaire businessman and National Hockey League team owner Vincent Viola as secretary of the Army, his transition team announced Monday. "I am proud to have such an incredibly accomplished and selfless individual as Vincent Viola as our Secretary of the Army," Trump said in a statement. "Whether it is his distinguished military service or highly impressive track record in the world of business, Vinnie has proved throughout his life that he knows how to be a leader and deliver major results in the face of any challenge." Viola is the founder of...

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated as his Army secretary Vincent Viola, an Army veteran who became a billionaire after founding an electronic trading firm and went on to buy the Florida Panthers hockey team. Viola is a 1977 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and funded the creation of its highly regarded Combating Terrorism Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. A former infantry officer and Ranger School graduate, he has pressed for innovation in cyber warfare, saying at a conference five years ago that the Army of the future will be built on a “gestalt...