US Air Force Secretary James G.Roche submitted his resignation Tuesday, the Pentagon announced.

Roche plans to step down on Jan. 20, 2005, or sooner if a successor is confirmed by the Senate before then, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The statement said Roche had advised Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in early October of his intention leave at the end of the first Bush administration.

"Combined with his distinguished career with the United States Navy, Secretary Roche has served our country capably and with honor," Rumsfeld said in the statement.

Also on Tuesday, the Senate confirmed defense industry executive Francis J. Harvey as secretary of the Army, to replace Thomas White, who was dismissed by Rumsfeld in May 2003.