JOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING, Washington, D.C. – During a change of command ceremony Oct.3, Marine Corps General Vincent Stewart relinquished directorship of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
After 33 months as the first Marine helming DIA, Stewart will become U.S. Cyber Command’s next deputy commander. Army Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, Jr. relieved Stewart to become the 21st director of the DIA.
“These past 33 months have been the pinnacle of my career,” he said. “Lt. Gen. Ashley is the right person with the right skills to write the next chapter in the history of this agency.”
In farewell remarks, Stewart implored DIA staff to “always speak truth to power, no matter the cost.” He urged them to produce intelligence that will stand up to any amount of scrutiny at all levels of the military and government.
“Speak truth through your practices,” he said. “Speak truth through your tradecraft. Never lose sight of it, because unless we are forthright, honest and candid, we cannot fulfill our oath.”
“Speaking truth to power is more than honest analysis,” he added. “It’s also about getting it right. It’s about making the tough calls as early as possible.”
Presiding over the ceremony, Deputy Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan – standing in for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who was testifying to lawmakers on the war in Afghanistan – thanked Stewart for his dedicated leadership.
“My research shows you have accomplished a great deal both at DIA and throughout your career,” Shanahan said. “You have track record of success … You’re the type of leader that teams want to follow.”
Shanahan said Stewart raised DIA’s profile in the previous two years during a period where intelligence gathering has unleashed a firehose of data from all over the world. Stewart was able to anticipate the needs of DoD by strengthening intelligence centers and establishing a new element within the agency called the Defense Debriefing Service that provides intelligence breakdowns for senior civilian and uniformed leadership.
“Your expertise is both a mile wide and a mile deep,” Shanahan said before presenting Stewart with the Defense Distinguished Service Medal.
Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats said one of Stewart’s major accomplishments at DIA was putting the agency “in high gear” in an attempt to keep pace with exponentially fast commercial technology development. Stewart has been a proponent of rapid tech integration through modular, open systems architectures and non-proprietary software interfaces.
In brief remarks after accepting the DIA leadership post, Ashley spent most time praising the support of his family. As a career intelligence officer – he most recently served as Army deputy chief of staff for intelligence – he respected the professionalism of DIA analysts.
Ashley was confirmed by the Senate in August. The Senate confirmed Stewart to become deputy chief at CYBERCOM in July.
“When I needed depth and I needed expertise, the person I put in front of the senior leader was a DIA professional,” Ashley said.