DISA gets new vice director

The Defense Information Systems Agency has a familiar face in place as its new vice director: Maj. Gen. Alan Lynn, who most recently served as commanding general of the Army's Network Enterprise Technology Command at Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

Lynn assumed the role as of Sept. 30, marking a return to DISA after leaving as chief of staff in 2008. Prior to his NETCOM assignment, Lynn commanded the Army Signal Center of Intelligence.

Lynn succeeds Rear Adm. David Simpson, who in a Sept. 30 DISA release reflected on his experience at the agency, where he had served as vice director since July 2011.

"I have always been a DISA fan," Simpson said. "What I didn't fully appreciate [before working here], was the breadth and depth of the talent at DISA. I have been very impressed with the number of simultaneous activities that go on all around the world, every day, led by individuals at DISA who see the imperative to reduce mission gaps and to provide new capabilities for warfighters at the edge."

Simpson stepped in at DISA in the midst of a tumultuous Army-wide transition to enterprise email, an experience he said led him to an "epiphany" that even the greatest technology cannot be a change agent by itself.

Simpson also looked back at DISA's evolving approaches to mobility, cybersecurity, the Joint Information Environment and warfighter support overall, while offering a hint of what Lynn has to look forward to

"I think DISA will be an agency that is increasingly predictive and proactive as it brings all of the support functions — acquisition, procurement, technology, research and development, test and evaluation, and spectrum — together in an enterprise framework," he said. "I also see DISA in a lead role for the command and control of DOD information networks and defensive cyber operations, where the each of the service components, combatant commanders and theater forces rely upon DISA to anchor the information environment supporting all of their critical operations."