Navy Vice Adm. Jan Tighe on May 13 was nominated by Defense Secretary Ash Carter for assignment as deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare and director of naval intelligence at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., according to a Defense Department release.
Tighe, currently serving as commander of 10th Fleet/Fleet Cyber Command at Fort Meade, Maryland, would replace the incumbent Vice Adm. Ted Branch, who's been working as the Navy's intelligence chief without a security clearance for nearly three years. His clearance was revoked -- barring him from access to any classified information or intelligence -- after his name came up in a massive DoD-wide corruption case known as the "Fat Leonard" scandal. The case involved briberies between Pentagon officials and Glenn Marine Group, a defense contractor, and has created significant fallout within the Navy.
Branch earlier this year insisted the loss of his clearance has not prevented him from doing his job.
As intelligence chief, "I haven't had a lot of work in the last two years from a practical day-to-day standpoint. Organizationally, I still have input there…I have two [Senior Executive Service] level 3 deputies that run that on a day to day basis," in addition to the Office of Naval Intelligence, Branch said in February at AFCEA West in San Diego. However, "naval intelligence is OK. The whole situation is less than optimal and frustrating, but we are where we are. And we will persevere. And I will lead in this capacity until somebody tells me to go home."
Tighe is the first woman to command a numbered fleet, and took helm of Navy Cyber in April 2014. Since then, she has helped grow the Navy's cyber presence, training sailors and positioning the service to back U.S. Cyber Command and operate in cyberspace.
"I believe cyber warfare has had a hand in changing our view and language. I don't think it was a conscious campaign -- it certainly didn't change overnight," Tighe said in February at AFCEA West. "I think the language caught up to reflecting what we all knew: The margins of victory are razor thin. But make no mistake; we can accept nothing short of victory each and every day."
