Then-Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse speaks at a AFCEA conference in 2019. (screengrab via CSPAN)
WASHINGTON — Among the 400-plus military officers confirmed by the Senate last week as a result of Sen. Tommy Tuberville lifting his hold on nominations was Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the incoming director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Kruse, an Air Force officer who has had a long career in Pentagon intelligence posts, currently serves as the advisor for military affairs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). After his confirmation, DNI Avril Haines praised Kruse’s “extensive experience and an extraordinary commitment to ethics in defense of country[.]”
“Though I will sorely miss Jeff’s sage advice as my Advisor for Military Affairs, it will be wonderful to work with him in his new role, as he leads the truly exceptional DIA workforce,” Haines said.
According to his military bio, prior to the ODNI gig Kruse served as the Director for Defense Intelligence – Warfighter Support in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security, and before that was director of intelligence as US Indo-Pacific Command.
Kruse was supposed to take over the directorship from Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier weeks ago, but was caught up in Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s block hold on confirming military officers. After a months-long stare down with the Pentagon over its abortion policy, Tuberville backed off earlier this week.
Kruse’s confirmation is likely to be a big topic of discussion at the DIA-organized DoDIIS conference this week in Oregon. Several senior DIA officials are scheduled to speak, including Berrier, but Kruse is not yet among them.
Speaking at the Air, Space and Cyber conference in March, however, Kruse emphasized what he saw as the most important mission for the intelligence community: counterintelligence.
“What I would tell you is that in addition to the human recruiting piece that I get to see from the national level, cyber intrusions, using technology, acquisitions and mergers, joint ventures, talent management, hiring the experts that have trained and come from US military and industry going to our adversaries,” he said. “It is remarkable the flow of data that, I will say China, but China and others expect to come their way.
“So let me just cut to the chase and be very clear,” he told the audience. “The target is you. It is we. It is the joint force, it is industry. Everything that we are doing together is at risk if we don’t have a world class insider threat program, world class cybersecurity wrapped around all the things that you’ve done.”
Kruse said on the panel that he was “more concerned about our ability to secure what we’re doing than almost anything else.”
