Today, the Department of Defense announced that David M. Cattler has been selected as the next director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. The appointment will be effective March 24, 2024.
Mr. Cattler has extensive leadership experience within the intelligence community, military, and NATO, making him the ideal candidate to hit the ground running and lead DCSA. He has served multiple times as an intelligence enterprise mission manager in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and led complex efforts across organizational and functional boundaries. He has significant intelligence collection management and analytic experience at the national, joint, and service levels, and has advised the President, civilian agencies, Defense department and military leaders, and operational forces through roles at Defense Intelligence Agency, Joint Staff, National Security Council, and during a career as a naval surface warfare officer. Mr. Cattler understands the criticality of the DCSA security mission to the Department, our federal partners, and industry.
DCSA is a strategic asset to the Nation and its allies – ensuring a trusted federal and industrial workforce and enabling industry's delivery of uncompromised capabilities. DCSA uniquely blends industrial security, counterintelligence support, personnel vetting, and security training to advance and preserve America's strategic edge.
Mr. Cattler will replace Acting Director Daniel Lecce, who has been serving in an acting capacity since September 2023 and who will return to his current position as Deputy Director.