President Donald Trump has nominated Army Lt. Gen. Michele Bredenkamp to serve as the next director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the Pentagon announced Friday.
If confirmed by the Senate, Bredenkamp would become the ninth director of the NGA, succeeding Navy Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth, who has led the agency since early 2022. A date for her nomination hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Bredenkamp currently serves as the military affairs advisor to the director of national intelligence, a role she assumed in January 2024. Her military career spans a range of high-level intelligence assignments, including commanding general of the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, director of intelligence for U.S. Forces Korea, and vice director for intelligence on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon.
She has also deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan during the post-9/11 conflicts and previously served as deputy director for program analysis and evaluation in the Army’s G-8 office in Washington from August to November 2018.
If confirmed, Bredenkamp would oversee an agency with a global mission and a workforce composed of military personnel, civilians, and contractors. The NGA partners with domestic and international organizations and leverages advanced technologies to provide intelligence that shapes U.S. defense and security strategies.
NGA is a key part of the U.S. national security framework, serving both as a principal member of the intelligence community and as a combat support agency under the Department of Defense, which has been newly proposed to be renamed the Department of War. The agency provides geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), which uses imagery and location data to support military operations, national security, and emergency response.