Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth swore in five new Civilian Aides to the Secretary of the Army during an investiture ceremony at the Pentagon on Dec. 3, 2024, including Rich Morales ’89.
“It’s an honor to have these five outstanding new CASAs representing the Army,” said Secretary of the Army Wormuth. “Our CASAs are instrumental in building and maintaining relationships between the Army and communities across the country. The work they do is critically important, especially in our efforts to spread the Army story and recruit the next generation of soldiers.”
Morales served in the U.S. Army for three decades. A retired brigadier general and Purple Heart recipient, he led a Gulf War tank platoon, UN peacekeepers, a task force in Baghdad recognized for valor, and an ROTC brigade supporting 97 universities. He chaired the Department of Systems Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy, was aide to the head of NASA, and served on two White House staffs. Morales studied aerospace engineering at West Point, systems dynamics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, security studies at the Naval War College and strategy at the National Defense University. He earned an MBA from Yale, a PhD from Cambridge University, and is a Harvard Kennedy School senior executive fellow. Now a professor of engineering at Brown University, he advises the Formula 1 car design crew, the baseball team and the school’s veteran community. He serves on business, academic, and nonprofit boards, and supports leader development at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. The Morales family moved 16 times before settling in Rhode Island.
“I am honored to connect our Army to my communities, state and national initiatives, research expertise, and technology needs, and especially to support people, institutions and innovation in Rhode Island and New England,” said Morales.
