James C. King (born 18 March 1946) is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General. A career Military Intelligence officer, he served on active duty from 1968 to 2001. At the time of his retirement he was serving as the Director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, one of the intelligence agencies of the United States Intelligence Community.

Education

King earned a Bachelor of Science in political science from Utah State University and was a distinguished military graduate through the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program. He holds a Masters of Science in Public Administration from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. His professional military education included completion of the Signal Officer Basic Course, the Military Intelligence Officer Advanced Course, the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College.

Military career

Company grade assignments

Upon being commissioned as a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in Military Intelligence (MI), King was first assigned to the Army Security Agency (ASA) Field Station in

Hakata, Japan is a ward of the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Many of Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka City's principal government, commercial, retail and entertainment establishments are located in the district. Hakata-ku is also the location o ...

. In that assignment he served as a Company Commander, S1, and S3. His following assignment was to the Republic of Vietnam where he commanded the 509th Radio Research Group. His unit was responsible for tracking North Vietnamese forces during the end of American participation in the Vietnam War. He subsequently served in staff positions at the National Security Agency (NSA) and in the 307th ASA Battalion in Germany.

Field grade assignments

King served two assignments at U.S. Total Army Personnel Command, with stint in between in Germany commanding the 307th MI Battalion. His last assignment at PERSCOM was as Chief, Military Intelligence Branch. King went on to serve as Chief of Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition; Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans,

Department of the Army Staff Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in June 1989. King then went on to command the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade in Germany. After command, he returned to the Army Staff and served as

Executive Officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army for Intelligence.

General officer assignments

Promoted to Brigadier General in 1993, King became the Associate Deputy Director for Operations (Military Support)/Chief of Operations and Targeting Group, NSA, Fort George G. Meade. In August 1994, he was assigned as the Director of Intelligence (J2), United States Central Command (CENTCOM), MacDill Air Force Base. King then became the J2, Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1996. In March 1998 King was made the Director, National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA). He is credited as being a, "driving force behind the 'geospatial' concept, forcing the Intelligence Community to integrate the entire spectrum of NIMA products into their planning and lexicon." Under King's successor, NIMA was renamed the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Civilian career

In retirement King has continued to work in defense- and intelligence-related industries. In 2005, he was named as the chief executive of MZM, Inc. at a time when it had come under serious scrutiny in what became the

Cunningham scandal The Cunningham scandal is a List of federal political scandals in the United States, U.S. political scandal in which defense contractors paid bribery, bribes to members of Congress of the United States, Congress and officials in the United States De ...

. MZM was renamed Athena Innovative Solutions, eventually coming under the ownership of Veritas Capital. King stayed on as chief executive officer at Athena. Athena was bought by CACI in 2007. King was a staff member of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. He served as a commissioner on the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq. King has also served on the boards of Gestalt, LLC. and

Salient CRGT GovCIO, previously Salient CRGT, Inc, is an American private firm that provides health analytics, cloud services, Agile software development, mobility services, cyber security, data analytics, and infrastructure optimization to civilian, defense, ...

Accolades and decorations

King's awards and decorations include: * Defense Distinguished Service Medal *

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

(1 Oak leaf cluster) *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

(3 Oak leaf clusters) *

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

* Meritorious Service Medal (2 Oak leaf clusters) * Joint Service Commendation Medal (1 Oak leaf cluster) * Army Commendation Medal *

National Security Medal The National Security Medal is a decoration of the United States of America officially established by President Harry S. Truman in Executive Order 10431 of January 19, 1953. The medal was originally awarded to any person, without regard to nat ...

James King seamount is named after him. King was inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame in 2006. Utah States University Alumnus of the Year 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, James C. 1946 births Living people Utah State University alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Directors of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency