Army CIO picks deputy

The Army today named Vernon Bettencourt Jr. to serve as deputy chief information officer. He starts Nov. 17.

Bettencourt previously held the director of analysis and CIO position under the Army's deputy chief of staff for operations, the G-3. The 1969 West Point graduate also provided senior analysis support to the force development director for the service's deputy chief of staff for programs, the G-8.

"He brings a vast understanding of the issues involved with transforming the Army into a knowledge-based, network-centric force," said Lt. Gen. Steve Boutelle, the Army's CIO, in a statement. "He will be a key player in our efforts to realign and optimize our networks to support the joint warfighter."

Bettencourt spent 20 years in the Army. He retired in 1989, last holding the position of director of the service's Training and Doctrine Command's Analysis Center in Monterey, Calif., where he supervised simulation research.

He received a master's degree in operations research from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1976, and in the mid-1990s, he received an MBA in finance from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. He has a professional license in industrial engineering.

Bettencourt replaces Dave Borland, who will retire in November.