WASHINGTON, DC (NNS) – Vice Adm. Ted N. Branch assumed the duties of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (DCNO) for Information Dominance (N2/N6) and Director of Naval Intelligence (DNI) during a change-of-charge ceremony at the Pentagon on July 25.
Branch succeeds Vice Adm. Kendall L. Card, who will retire following a distinguished 35-year naval career. Card assumed office as the DCNO for Information Dominance and the 64th Director of Naval Intelligence in June of 2011.
N2/N6 is the Navy’s lead office for resourcing intelligence, cyber warfare, command and control, electronic warfare, battle management, oceanography and meteorology capabilities, among others. The office’s mission is to deliver end-to-end accountability for Navy information requirements, investments, capabilities and forces.
As DCNO, Card also directed the efforts of the more than 52,000 military and civilian professionals who comprise the Information Dominance Corps and provide warfare commanders with Assured Command and Control, Battlespace Awareness and Integrated Fires.
“It has been the highlight of my career to lead the N2/N6 team and Information Dominance community as we face the challenges of the information age,” Card said. “I’ve been humbled by the dedication and creativity of the members of our team as they have blazed new trails into the Navy’s future.”
Card is a native of Fort Stockton, Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in December 1977 and holds a master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He is also a graduate of U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.
He is a career naval aviator with over 3,900 flight hours in the SH-3H Sea King, SH-60F Seahawk, and S-3A Viking aircraft. He has commanded Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 15, USS Rainier (AOE 7), and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).
As a flag officer, Card has served as director, Command and Control Systems, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command J6; commander, task forces 51/58/59/151/158, Manama Bahrain; and commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Three. He was the Director of Concepts, Strategies and Integration for Information Dominance on the N2/N6 staff prior to becoming the DCNO.
Before assuming the mantle of DCNO/DNI, Branch served as Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet, based in Norfolk, Va. Naval Air Force Atlantic is composed of more than 40,000 men and women who maintain and operate five aircraft carriers, 80 aircraft squadrons flying 1,000 aircraft, and a number of supporting shore facilities providing combat-ready air forces to commanders operating from the North Pole to the Antarctic, and from the East Coast of the U.S. to the Indian Ocean.
Branch, a native of Long Beach, Miss., graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1979 and earned a master’s degree in International Relations from the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.
A career naval aviator, his operational assignments include Light Attack Squadrons 15 and 37, USS Forrestal (CV 59), and Strike Fighter Squadron 37. He served as executive and commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 15, executive officer in USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), commanding officer in USS Coronado (AGF 11) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68), and commander of Carrier Strike Group One/Carl Vinson Strike Group. During those tours, Branch deployed with both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets and has logged combat time in A-7 Corsairs and F/A-18 Hornets over Grenada, Lebanon, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iraq. He participated in Operations Urgent Fury, Earnest Will, Southern Watch, Deliberate Force, Iraqi Freedom, and led the initial Navy efforts for Haiti earthquake relief in Operation Unified Response.
Ashore, Branch has served as an instructor in the A-7 and F/A-18 Fleet Replacement Squadrons, the Joint Staff in Washington, completed Navy Nuclear Power Training, served as executive assistant to the commander U.S. Pacific Fleet, and as director of Operations and Plans (N31) on the chief of Naval Operations staff in Washington.
Branch's decorations include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Strike Flight Air Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat “V”, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various unit and campaign awards.
“It is an honor and a privilege for me to assume these duties,” Branch said. “I look forward to leading the N2/N6 team and the Information Dominance Corps as we evolve and develop this new way of warfare.”