President Bush nominated John Paul Woodley on Jan. 22 to be the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works. The announcement comes nearly a year after Michael Parker abruptly resigned from that post. Parker, a former five-term Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, quit on March 6, 2002, after critics charged he did not sufficiently defend Bush's budget request for the Army Corps of Engineers at a Capitol Hill hearing.

Woodley currently serves as the assistant under secretary of Defense for the environment. From 1998 to 2001 he was the secretary of Natural Resources of Virginia. Prior to that, Woodley served as deputy attorney general for government operations for Virginia.

The Army post requires Senate confirmation. No successor for Woodley has been announced.