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Jamaican-Born Maj. Gen. Vincent Stewart Becomes US’s 1st Black Head of Defense Intelligence Agency

Maj. Gen. Vincent Stewart was tabbed as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, making him the first Black and the first Marine to hold the position of the military’s top spy chief.

Stewart, a three-star general who was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, until the eighth grade, replaced Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who retired amid conflict in April. Lt. Gen. Mary Legere, deputy chief of staff of intelligence for the Army, was once expected to take over for Flynn, but her potential nomination ran into opposition from Congress.

Stewart’s nomination to lieutenant general was approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee on Dec. 10, setting in motion his promotion. He will end his service as the head of the Marine Forces Cyber Command and begin his new job on Jan. 23, taking over for interim director David Shedd, a former CIA official.

“This is a position I know well, and Vincent is exceptionally qualified to serve in this important Intelligence Community and Department of Defense post,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in a statement. “Vincent’s temperament, professional background, leadership skills and integrity make him eminently suited to be the next DIA director.”

DIA provides military intelligence to combat units, defense planners and policy makers.

According to his official military biography, Stewart entered the Marine Corps in 1981. His previous positions include senior intelligence planner for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and director of Intelligence for Marine Corps Headquarters.

Army Col. Steven Warren, a Defense Department spokesman, said of Stewart in a Department of Defense release: “A distinguished intelligence professional and dedicated warfighter, Major General Stewart brings a wealth of talent and leadership to the Defense Intelligence Agency and the nation’s intelligence community across the agencies and organizations.”

Stewart credited his upbringing in Jamaica for his success. “I left (Kingston) about 1971, when I was just starting second year at Kingston College,” he said to The Gleaner in a 2010 interview. “The education I got here put me in a good position when I went to America. I was well ahead of my classmates when they placed me in eighth grade.”

What people are saying

10 thoughts on “Jamaican-Born Maj. Gen. Vincent Stewart Becomes US’s 1st Black Head of Defense Intelligence Agency

  1. Jay Contreras says:

    Bait & switch. Put a negro as the head of an organization when you are about to roll out major policies that detrimentally affect the black diasporan community. Wait for it.

  2. Hank Wilson says:

    Yup, here we go again. Africom same thing, then took stars from the brother after they used him to initiate its operations farther into the whole of Africa…lol. They're using Barack too, for the final solution. However, God's eyes are never closed and that thread has been detoured!!!

  3. He's an individual, you make assumptions, and you know what that does, don't you! Give him time, he has a proven track record. Stp being the voice of gloom and doom, "the proof will be in the pudding".

  4. Hank Wilson says:

    Let us agree on assumptions. Yet, paraphasing-you're entitled to your own assumptions but you're not entitled to your own facts, "he's an individual," who works for corporate-governance; not that that in itself is a bad thing…but you kind of know where this is going, know what I mean?

  5. Actually judgements should be held until AFTER he has assumed the director ship. It's a first, let's see how it plays out. The former director was making positive changes to change the culture of the agency, in other terms, there were k

  6. Haters Haters haters smh.

  7. Stanley Buffett says:

    WHY ARE YOU SO NEGATIVE? JAY WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO CONTRIBUTE TO SOMETHING POSITIVE IN LIFE?

  8. I pity some of you.

  9. I pity some of you.

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