Dr. Philip L. Ritcheson, a member of the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service, is the Director, User Engagement Group, Deputy Director for Mission Support, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Va.
Dr. Ritcheson's experience includes serving as a research assistant for the Hart-Rudman Commission; consulting on information warfare at Science Applications International Corporation's Strategic Assessment Center; and researching and analyzing a wide range of national security issues for a public service research institute. He has previously been Assistant for Space Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence), and Senior Assistant for Planning and Preparation in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence).
Dr. Ritcheson served in the White House as the Director for Space Policy in the Office of Defense Policy and Strategy on the National Security Council staff, providing presidential guidance on a variety of threats. Prior to assuming his current assignment, he was recalled to active duty for a one-year tour with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula where he served as the Deputy for Intelligence Operations. In addition, Dr. Ritcheson is a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve, serving as an intelligence officer with expertise in targeting, collection operations and Navy-specific human intelligence. He has published more than 20 articles, review essays, book reviews and opinion editorials on a wide range of national security subjects. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2007.
EDUCATION
1989 Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
1991 Master of Science degree in defense and strategic studies, Southwest Missouri State University
1998 Doctor of Philosophy degree in international relations, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. July 2001 - September 2003, Assistant for Space Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence), Washington, D.C.
2. October 2003 - June 2005, Senior Assistant for Planning and Preparation, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence), Washington, D.C.
3. July 2005 - November 2007, Director for Space Policy, Office of Defense Policy and Strategy, National Security Council, the White House, Washington, D.C.
4. December 2007 - November 2008, Deputy for Intelligence Operations; officer-in-charge, All Source Production Cell; and the officer-in-charge, Human Intelligence Analysis and Requirements Cell, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula, Southwest Asia
5. December 2008 - present, Director, User Engagement Group, Deputy Director for Mission Support, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Va.
(Current as of August 2009)