The Defense Department’s (DoD) National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) last week installed Brig. Gen. Christopher Povak as NRO’s new deputy director and commander of the Space Force Element.
Povak will help manage NRO’s strategic and tactical operations in his new role as deputy director. And as the Space Force Element commander, he will lead the Air Force and Space Force personnel assigned to NRO, manage associated service resources, and serve as the senior advisor to the NRO director on all military matters.
“We’re honored to welcome back Space Force Brigadier General Povak to the NRO team,” NRO Director Dr. Chris Scolese, said in a press release. “His three decades of leadership and career experience in satellite operations, engineering, and acquisitions – including commanding space operations units – will be crucial in our ongoing efforts to bolster innovation and maintain America’s intelligence advantage in space.”
Povak previously worked at NRO where he served as the deputy director of operations from Jul 2015 to Jun 2016.
He has also served as the deputy director of the Space Warfighting Analysis Center in Washington, D.C. – which conducts analysis, modeling, wargaming, and experimentation to create operational concepts and force design guidance for Space Force missions.
