NSA insider to succeed George Barnes as agency’s deputy director
A longtime civilian leader at the National Security Agency and Defense Department has been selected as the successor to NSA Deputy Director George Barnes.
Wendy Noble most recently served as a senior DOD official overseeing foreign partnerships. From 2019-22 Noble worked as the NSA’s executive director, its No. 2 civilian position.
Noble will be the 3rd woman to hold the deputy director position in the 70-plus year history of the spy agency.
As deputy director Noble will function as the NSA's chief operating officer, the agency said in a press release. She will manage how the agency executes its strategy, establish policy, oversee operations, and supervise the senior civilian leadership. Noble also will be tasked with supporting what the press release referred to as the U.S. “defense and intelligence enterprise in the formulation of national security policies.”
As executive director at the agency, Noble managed operational strategies and put policies in place, the release said.
Barnes held the deputy director position for six years.
"I am confident in Wendy's ability to lead NSA as the next Deputy Director," Gen. Paul Nakasone, the agency’s director, said in a prepared statement. "She has consistently been recognized for her outstanding contributions and dedication to our mission.”
The change comes as Nakasone prepares to retire. His expected successor atop the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command — Air Force Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh — is currently caught up in a months-long political blockade in the Senate.
Army Maj. Gen. William Hartman, who is President Joe Biden’s pick to serve as the No. 2 leader at Cyber Command, is similarly awaiting action on his nomination in the Senate.
Today, @SecDef designated and @POTUS approved Ms. Wendy Noble to serve as NSA's 20th Deputy Director and senior civilian leader, becoming the third woman in the 70-plus year history of NSA to hold this position. https://t.co/3QTHqA7aYH pic.twitter.com/R0o02N1gks
— NSA/CSS (@NSAGov) August 30, 2023
Suzanne Smalley
is a reporter covering privacy, disinformation and cybersecurity policy for The Record. She was previously a cybersecurity reporter at CyberScoop and Reuters. Earlier in her career Suzanne covered the Boston Police Department for the Boston Globe and two presidential campaign cycles for Newsweek. She lives in Washington with her husband and three children.