Under Secretary of Defense For Intelligence - History

History

The position of Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence was created by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks to better coordinate Department-wide intelligence activities. It became second in the line of succession for the Secretary of Defense, after the Deputy Secretary of Defense, after an executive order was made by President George W. Bush on December 22, 2005. When it was created, the legislation described it as taking precedence in the Department behind the Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness.

On November 23, 2005, a Department of Defense Directive was made by Secretary Rumsfeld that stated that the Under Secretary shall serve as the Secretary's primary representative to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It also stated the Under Secretary shall provide policy and oversight on the training and career development of personnel in Department of Defense's counterterrorism, intelligence, and security components. The Under Secretary has the duty of finding candidates to be nominated to serve as Directors of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Security Agency, and overseeing their performance.

The USD(I) became a dual-hatted position as Director of Defense Intelligence, acting as the primary military intelligence advisor to the DNI. This additional position follows a May 2007 memorandum of agreement between Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Director of National Intelligence John Michael McConnell to create the position.

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