Congressman Trashes Lieutenant General Who Could Become Military's Top Spy

The possible nomination of Lt. Gen. Mary A. Legere to the top position of the Defense Intelligence Agency is a seriously misguided move, according to one congressman.

Congressman Duncan Hunter sent a letter today to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper warning against Legere's nomination.

Hunter's complaints center around promises that the Army would provide cloud capability through the Army's Distributed Common Ground System program. This program is still not operational in the theater, despite having been received approximately $500 million from Congress since 2010.

Moreover, Hunter believes that Legere should also be held accountable for a series of failed initiatives that were meant to support soldiers.

Hunter writes:

... Lt. Gen. Legere, in addition to Maj. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, Commander of U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, holds principal responsibility for failing to deliver urgent capabilities to the warfighter and overseeing initiatives that have repeatedly failed to meet budget and schedule requirements. These failures have manifested in several areas, including poor technical execution, a lack of response to urgent operational needs, unwarranted influence over official assessments, serious breaches of federal funding requirements, and misleading statements to Congress.

Legere is currently the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence of the U.S. Army. She is currently tied for the highest-ranking female general.

Legere is rumored to be considered for nomination as the next director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, following Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn's abrupt retirement yesterday.