Army Lt. Gen. Alan Lynn took command of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) on July 23 during a ceremony at the Fort Meade headquarters.
Lynn succeeds retiring Director Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronnie Hawkins. The DISA director manages both daily cyber protection for the Defense Department and leads Joint Force Headquarters DoD Information Network (JFHQ-DODIN). Lynn previously served as the DISA vice director under Hawkins.
Terry Halvorsen, DoD chief information officer (CIO), presided over the directorship change while Air Force Lt. Gen. James McLaughlin, deputy commander of U.S. Cyber Command, presided over the change of command.
“Ronnie has done an absolutely outstanding job as commander here. He has set new things in motion. I’m sure that Al is going to continue those and set his own new things in motion,” Halvorsen said at the ceremony.
Speaking about the JFHQ-DODIN’s role, McLaughlin added “We are very proud of what the organization has done and it could not have happened without the leadership of the outgoing commander. In this environment where we don’t have enough money or people, to stand up a brand new organization takes vision and leadership and that happened under Gen. Hawkins’ leadership.”
Hawkins thanked the workforce and endorsed Lynn as the new director.
“We are going to miss being a part of DISA. I’ve had the best wing man that any director and commander can ask for but I’ve also had the greatest people within an organization here in DISA. We have been champions all the way.”