Last week the US Senate confirmed retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper Jnr. to be the DNI.
Commenting on this well-deserved appointment, Mr David C. Gompert Acting Director of National Intelligence said, “As we face evolving security threats and continue to build an integrated intelligence enterprise, the Intelligence Community and the nation are extremely fortunate to have such a distinguished leader at the helm.”
Mr. Clapper has put in more than 40 years in public service, including a 32-year Air Force career and senior Intelligence Community leadership positions. He is one of America’s most experienced and respected intelligence professionals.
Gompert adds: “On behalf of the Intelligence Community, I congratulate Mr. Clapper on his confirmation and welcome him to the ODNI.”
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF GENERAL CLAPPER (rtd.)
James R. Clapper, Jr. was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence on April 11, 2007. He was the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense regarding intelligence, counterintelligence and security matters. He was also dual-hatted as the Director of Defense Intelligence and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence as his principal advisor regarding defense intelligence matters.
Mr. Clapper previously served as the Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), previously known as the National Imagery & Mapping Agency (NIMA), from September 2001 to June 2006; he was the first civilian director of NGA. He retired as a lieutenant general from the U.S. Air Force in 1995, after a 32-year career.
Prior to his appointment as director of the NIMA in September 2001, he worked in industry for six years as an executive in three successive companies. His business focus was on the intelligence community.
Mr. Clapper's last military assignment was as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. His earlier assignments included a variety of intelligence-related positions to include Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and as Director of Intelligence for three war-fighting commands: U.S. Forces, Korea; Pacific Command; and Strategic Air Command.
Mr. Clapper has served as a consultant and advisor to Congress, Department of Defense and Department of Energy, and as a member of a wide variety of government panels, boards, commissions and advisory groups. He was a member of the Downing Assessment Task Force that investigated the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996 and was vice chairman of a commission chaired by former Governor Jim Gilmore of Virginia on the subject of homeland security.
He earned a bachelor's degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland, a master's degree in political science from St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas, and an honorary doctorate in strategic intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College.
His awards include three National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medals, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Coast Guard’s Distinguished Public Service Award, the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award and a host of other U.S. military and foreign government awards and decorations. He served two combat tours during the Southeast Asia conflict and flew 73 combat support missions in EC-47s over Laos and Cambodia. He was named as one of the Top 100 Information Technology Executives by Federal Computer Week in 2001 and has received the NAACP National Distinguished Service Award, and the Presidentially conferred National Security Medal. (Current as of March 19, 2009.)
Biographical Source: United States Department of Defense www.defense.gov