DIA names Melissa Drisko as deputy

The Defense Intelligence Agency has picked Melissa Drisko, a career intelligence official with experience managing a big technology portfolio, to be the agency's No. 2 official. Drisko has served as DIA's director of science and technology and in several other positions in the intelligence community.

Her appointment as deputy director is effective in August. She will replace Douglas Wise, who is retiring.

In a statement, DIA Director Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart praised Drisko as "the right choice as a partner in leading this agency. She speaks truth to power, unbiased and unblemished -- this is the mark of a true leader."

As science and technology director, Drisko oversaw a portfolio covering advanced technologies, "foreign materiel exploitation," and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT), according to DIA spokesman James Kudla. MASINT is intelligence gleaned from data that is not signals intelligence or imagery, and it uses sources such as radar signatures or chemical compositions, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Drisko is currently DIA's director for rank-in-person implementation, meaning she is in charge of how the agency assesses personnel performance.

She joined DIA as deputy chief financial executive in 2007. She has also worked for the CIA, the Office of Naval Intelligence, and the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research.

David Shedd, who was deputy DIA director for four years, said Drisko was the right pick to be the agency's de facto chief operating officer. "Her Navy background, keen understanding of resource management and passion for the DIA mission" will serve her well, Shedd told FCW.