By Jack Moore
Federal News Radio

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Air Force Maj. Gen. Ronnie Hawkins has been nominated to be the next director of the Defense Information Systems Agency, according to a DoD release.

Hawkins, who now serves as the Joint Staff’s deputy director for C4 — short for command, control, communications and computer systems — will take over for current DISA director Lt. Gen. Carroll Pollett.

Hawkins’ nomination represents a homecoming of sorts — before being named to his position on the Joint Staff just this summer, Hawkins served as DISA’s vice director under Pollett and played a lead role in the agency’s enterprise email efforts.

He notably said convincing the Navy and Air Force to transition to DISA’s cloud-based email system — as the Army is now in the process of doing — was a matter of when, not if.

“We’re in those negotiations with all of [the services] right now. The ‘ifs’ are contingent on the pricing and the delivery of the capability,” he said.

The personnel announcement came in a DoD General Officer Announcement. Hawkins has also been nominated to the rank of lieutenant general.

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.