Editor’s note: This article was updated at 2:50 p.m. June 26 to include comment from the U.S. Army.
WASHINGTON — Leonel Garciga, most recently the top technology officer for U.S. Army intelligence, will be the service’s next civilian chief information officer, C4ISRNET and Army Times have learned.
Garciga is expected to take the post in mid-July. He will succeed Raj Iyer, who after nearly three years as CIO rejoined private industry, according to an internal announcement. The position has been vacant for months now.
An Army spokesperson on June 26 said Garciga “will spearhead the Army’s technological transformation efforts, ensuring the effective management and utilization of information systems across the organization.”
“Having led the Army Intelligence Community CIO for four years, Garciga has extensive experience in developing innovative solutions and driving digital advancements” that will “play a pivotal role in enhancing the Army’s capabilities in an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving digital landscape,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Garciga did not immediately respond to a message on social media seeking comment.
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Garciga currently serves as the director for information management within the Army’s G-2 intelligence directorate, where he oversees the service’s implementation of revamped intelligence community information and data practices. He has held that position since early 2019.
His next gig will be a step up: As CIO, Garciga will oversee an information technology portfolio totaling billions of dollars, including hundreds of millions for cloud computing and adoption in fiscal 2023.
The Army, the military’s largest service, is pushing what it calls “digital transformation” — the phasing in of new technologies, connectivity and online techniques. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth has said achieving force-wide digital fluency is her No. 2 objective.
Before taking the tech reins in the G-2, Garciga spent more than seven years at the Defense Department’s improvised explosive device research arm. Garciga was also an enlisted Navy submariner and a graduate of the Naval Nuclear Power School.
Colin Demarest was a reporter at C4ISRNET, where he covered military networks, cyber and IT. Colin had previously covered the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration — namely Cold War cleanup and nuclear weapons development — for a daily newspaper in South Carolina. Colin is also an award-winning photographer.
Davis Winkie covers the Army for Military Times. He studied history at Vanderbilt and UNC-Chapel Hill, and served five years in the Army Guard. His investigations earned the Society of Professional Journalists' 2023 Sunshine Award and consecutive Military Reporters and Editors honors, among others. Davis was also a 2022 Livingston Awards finalist.
