President Bush has appointed Mark Rosenker vice chairman of the NTSB for a two-year term that began August 9. He has been head of the agency, either as chairman or acting chairman, since March 2005.

Rosenker’s two-year term as chairman expired last month. Although Bush had nominated him for a second two-year term as chairman, the Senate failed to confirm him before leaving Washington for its vacation recess. The chairmanship requires separate Senate confirmation.

The vice chairmanship requires no such separate confirmation, so by naming Rosenker to that post, Bush ensured that he can serve as acting chairman. When there is no designated chairman, the vice chairman serves as acting chairman. He is currently in his second five-year term as a member, which expires Dec. 31, 2010.

Rosenker was the board member on the scene for the Safety Board’s investigations into the November 2004 crash of a chartered Gulfstream III in Houston (the airplane was on its way to pick up former President George H.W. Bush for a flight to Latin America) and the December 2005 crash of a Chalk’s Ocean Airways Grumman Turbo Mallard that shed a wing in Miami.

Beginning Jan. 20, 2001, until the announcement of his nomination to the NTSB, Rosenker served as deputy assistant to the president and director of the White House Military Office. In this capacity, he had responsibility for policies, personnel and plans that involve Department of Defense assets in direct support of the President.

A retired major general in the Air Force Reserve, Rosenker entered the Air Force in 1969 through the University of Maryland ROTC program. He is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College.

During his 37.5-year Air Force career, Rosenker received a number of awards and decorations, including the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with One Oak Leaf Cluster and the Legion of Merit.