Kenneth P. Rapuano is an American

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who has held various global security-related posts within the U.S. federal government. He most recently served from June 2017 to January 2021 as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security 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 ...

, having been confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 12, 2017, by a vote of 95–1.

Early life and education

Rapuano is the son of Alfred and Catherine Rapuano, and a native of

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958,Ridgewood High School in 1980. Following high school, he graduated with a B.S. in Political Science from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

and an M.S. in National Security Studies from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Military

Rapuano served 21 years in the

United States Marines Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

on active duty and the reserve as an infantryman and intelligence officer with deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan. He deployed to Iraq in 2003, where he commanded the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center of the Iraq Survey Group established to conduct the mission of surveying and exploiting possible weapons of mass destruction activities throughout Iraq. In 2006, he left his position as Deputy Homeland Security Advisor to President George W. Bush to volunteer for active duty deployment to Afghanistan. He deployed as a Marine Corps intelligence officer with the Joint Special Operations Task Force, establishing and directing a targeting fusion center tracking high-value terrorists and insurgents.

Career

Rapuano has previously worked for the think tanks

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and Mitre Corporation. At

, he simultaneously served as a Senior Vice President while also acting as the Executive Director of the Studies & Analysis Group. Prior to working for

, he was the President of Homeland Security at ICx Technologies. Rapuano has previously served as the Deputy Homeland Security Advisor to President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, the Deputy Undersecretary for Counter-Terrorism at the

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, and as a Special Assistant in International Security Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapuano, Kenneth Living people United States Marines Trump administration personnel George W. Bush administration personnel United States Department of Defense officials United States Department of Energy officials People from Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood High School (New Jersey) alumni Year of birth missing (living people)