Steve Parode Assumes Duties as DDNI

Mr. Steve Parode assumed responsibilities as the Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence and Director, Naval Intelligence Activity in November. He is also the acting DNI until Vice Admiral Karl Thomas arrives.

Parode is a retired Rear Admiral who served 35 years in the U.S. Navy as a cryptologist, surface warfare officer and information warfare flag officer. He became a Defense Executive Senior Level member in August 2020 and was most recently the Executive Director of Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group before becoming the DDNI.

Scott Bray, the former DDNI and NIA Director, turned over his DDNI and NIA responsibilities to Sandy Brown on 27 October 2023. Brown held the position temporarily until Parode came onboard. Bray is now the Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security for NATO. He had been the DDNI since January 2020 and was also serving as the acting DNI after Vice Admiral Trussler retired in August 2023.

About Mr. Steve Parode

Mr. Parode is the Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence (DDNI). In this capacity in the Information Warfare Directorate on the Staff of the Chief of Naval Opcrations, Mr. Parode delivers comprehensive intelligence assessments to Navy leadership, oversees intelligence activities and policies within the Navy, and represents the Navy in the Intelligence Community. Concurrently, Mr. Parode serves as the Director of the Naval Intelligence Activity (DNIA), an Echelon 2 command that provides oversight and management of the Naval Intelligence Enterprise. Mr. Parode has served as DDNI and DNIA since November 2023.

Mr. Parode joined civilian service in 2022 as executive director of the Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group (NCWDG). In that capacity, he was the senior NCWDG representative to Department of Defense, Navy, and Intelligence Community cyber, information warfare, and science and technology stakeholders. He represented the Commanding Officer and program manager at boards, committees, panels, and working groups and assisted U.S TENTH Fleet/Fleet Cyber Command and the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretaries of Defense and the Navy. Mr. Parode served nearly 35 years in the Navy, being commissioned in 1986 and retiring in 2020 at the rank of rear admiral.

Mr. Parode attended the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Program at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in history (Soviet studies) He subsequently received a Master of Arts in national security studies (American government) from Georgetown University and was a distinguished graduate of the U.S Naval War College.

Mr. Parode's military awards include a Distinguished Service Medal, two Defense Superior Service Medals, a Legion of Merit, a Combat Action Ribbon, other personal awards, and various campaign and unit decorations. As a civilian, he received the Order of Hermes from the Information Professionals Association for his exceptional service and leadership in information operations and information warfare.