Michael S. Rogers (born October 31, 1959) is a former

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

who served as the second commander of the

United States Cyber Command United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integr ...

(USCYBERCOM). He concurrently served as the 17th director of the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

(NSA) and as chief of the

Central Security Service The Central Security Service (CSS) is a combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense which was established in 1972 to integrate the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Service Cryptologic Components (SCC) of the United ...

(CSS) from April 3, 2014. Prior to that, Rogers served as the Commander of the Tenth Fleet and Commander of the

United States Fleet Cyber Command The U.S. Fleet Cyber Command is an operating force of the United States Navy responsible for the Navy's information network operations, offensive and defensive cyber operations, space operations and signals intelligence. It was created in Januar ...

. During his tenure, he helped transform and elevate U.S. Cyber Command into a

unified combatant command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, ...

. He relinquished command on May 4, 2018 to his successor, Paul M. Nakasone.U.S. Cyber Command Change of Command/Command Elevation Ceremony
/ref> He retired from active duty in the United States Navy on June 1, 2018.

Early life and education

Rogers was born on October 31, 1959 and is a native of Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from

New Trier High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school, with its main campus for sophomores through seniors located in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, and a campus in Northfield, Illino ...

in 1977. He is a graduate of Auburn University (1981) and the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

Career

1980s

Rogers received his commission through the

Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 19 ...

(NROTC) program and has served in the United States Navy since graduating from Auburn University in 1981. He started his career as a Surface Warfare Officer working in naval gunfire support operations off Grenada, Beirut, and maritime surveillance operations off El Salvador on board the USS Caron (DD-970). In 1986, he was selected for transfer from unrestricted line officer to restricted line officer and re-designation as a cryptology officer.

2000s

During the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Rogers joined the military's

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

, which works for the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

, where he specialized in computer network attacks. From 2007 onward he served as director of intelligence for the military's Pacific Command. In 2009, he became director of intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and was subsequently named commander of

U.S. Fleet Cyber Command The U.S. Fleet Cyber Command is an operating force of the United States Navy responsible for the Navy's information network operations, offensive and defensive cyber operations, space operations and signals intelligence. It was created in Januar ...

and commander of the U.S. 10th Fleet, with responsibility for all of the Navy's

cyberwarfare Cyberwarfare is the use of cyber attacks against an enemy state, causing comparable harm to actual warfare and/or disrupting vital computer systems. Some intended outcomes could be espionage, sabotage, propaganda, manipulation or economic ...

efforts. As such, Rogers was the first restricted line officer to serve as a numbered fleet commander and the first Information Warfare Community (IWC) officer to achieve the rank of vice admiral.

2010s

In January 2014, the

Obama Administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

announced Rogers' nomination as director of the

and the commander of the United States offensive cyberoperations unit in the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

. Rogers succeeded General Keith B. Alexander, who served as the NSA director for nine years, and became the first IWC officer to achieve the rank of admiral. Although the NSA directorship does not require Senate approval, Rogers had to be confirmed by the Senate to head

, for which the Senate unanimously confirmed him. In his first public remarks as NSA director, Rogers stated that he believed that NSA whistleblower

Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...

was "probably not" working for a foreign intelligence agency despite speculation to the contrary. Rogers added: "He clearly believes in what he's doing. I question that; I don't agree with it. I fundamentally disagree with what he did. I believe it was wrong; I believe it was illegal." In January 2018, Rogers announced he would be retiring from the NSA in the spring. In early 2019, Rogers became the Chairman of the Board of Advisors of Claroty, a cybersecurity firm.

2020s

In October 2022, Rogers joined the Council for Responsible Social Media project launched by

Issue One Issue One is an American nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics. It aims to increase public awareness of what it views as problems within the present campaign finance system, and to reduce the influ ...

to address the negative mental, civic, and public health impacts of

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

in the United States co-chaired by former

House Democratic Caucus The House Democratic Caucus is a congressional caucus composed of all Democratic Representatives in the United States House of Representatives and is responsible for nominating and electing the Democratic Party leadership in the chamber. In its ...

Leader

Dick Gephardt Richard Andrew Gephardt (; born January 31, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States Representative from Missouri from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was House Majority Leader fro ...

and former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor

Kerry Healey Kerry Murphy Healey (born April 30, 1960) is a former American politician who served as the 70th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 under Governor Mitt Romney. She is currently the inaugural president of the Milken Institut ...

Military decorations

References

External links

* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Michael S. 1959 births Auburn University alumni Living people New Trier High School alumni Military personnel from Chicago Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal United States Navy admirals Directors of the National Security Agency Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)