Christine Fox is an American military civilian official and politician, who served as the Acting

Deputy Secretary of Defense The deputy secretary of defense (acronym: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the se ...

from December 3, 2013 until

Robert Work Robert Orton Work (born January 17, 1953) is an American national security professional who served as the 32nd United States Deputy Secretary of Defense for both the Obama and Trump administrations from 2014 to 2017. Prior to that, Work was the U ...

's confirmation on May 1, 2014. With her appointment, Fox became the highest-ranking woman to serve in the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

Career

Fox graduated from

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

. She was a civilian employee at

Naval Air Station Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the avi ...

and worked for CNA for nearly three decades as a research analyst, manager, and president of the Center for Naval Analyses. From 2009 until 2013, she was the

director of cost assessment and program evaluation The Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) is a principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The postholder, as chartered under United States ...

in the

Office of the Secretary of Defense The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is a headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense. It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out aut ...

—one of the most senior civilian positions in the Department of Defense. In her role as acting deputy secretary, she became the highest-ranking woman ever to work in

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

. She officially retired from the Pentagon in May 2014. From 2014 through 2022, Fox worked as the assistant director for policy and analysis at the

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (Applied Physics Laboratory, or APL) is a not-for-profit university-affiliated research center (UARC) in Howard County, Maryland. It is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University and emplo ...

before transitioning to serve as one of the Lab's Senior Fellows. She served on the boards of the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it i ...

, and the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

Honors

Fox is a three-time recipient of the

Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award The Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award is the highest Awards and decorations of the United States government, civilian award given by the United States Department of Defense. This award and accompanying Distinguished Civilia ...

and received the

Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service is the highest award that is presented by the Secretary of Defense, to a private citizen, politician, non-career federal employee, or foreign national. It is presented for exceptiona ...

In popular culture

Fox gained notability during her work at

, and became the inspiration for the ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an a ...

'' character Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood, played by

Kelly McGillis Kelly Ann McGillis (born July 9, 1957) is an American stage actress. She is known for her film roles such as Rachel Lapp in ''Witness'' (1985), for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations; Charlie in ''Top Gun'' (1986); ''Made in ...

in the film. In April 2018, Fox was interviewed in the documentary '' Do You Trust This Computer?''

References

External links

* 1955 births Living people Obama administration personnel United States Deputy Secretaries of Defense Female United States Navy civilians {{US-gov-bio-stub George Mason University alumni