Lieutenant General Timothy D. Haugh
SSCI Nomination Hearing – Opening Remarks
12 July 2023
Chairman Warner, Vice Chairman Rubio, and distinguished members of the
Committee, I am honored to testify today for my nomination as Director of the
National Security Agency, and Chief, Central Security Service.
I want to thank President Biden, Secretary Austin, Director Haines, and General
Milley for their trust in nominating me for these critical positions.
I’d also like to thank my bride Sherie, who has served with me for the last 31
years. I would also like to thank our children, Michael and Chandler, who
sacrificed as military children and are now thriving as adults. Michael is a Captain
and Company Commander in the North Carolina National Guard and Chandler is a
commercial cybersecurity analyst. Sherie and I are incredibly grateful for their
sacrifices to enable our service as a family.
I want to thank General Nakasone and Susan Nakasone for their service to the
National Security Agency. General Nakasone has 36 years of dedicated service
culminating as DIRNSA for the last 5 years. His commitment to both the mission
and the people during a time of unparalleled global change has continued the
legacy captured in the Agency’s watchwords – Defend the Nation; Secure the
Future. I truly believe the nation is defended and the future is secure due to his
leadership. A special thanks to Susan Nakasone for her commitment to her family
and for her willingness to focus on and address tough issues facing Army and
Agency spouses and families.
I am a career intelligence officer who has served 31 years in the Air Force, the
Joint Force and the Intelligence Community. My service in command and staff
positions at all levels, to include multiple assignments within NSA and the
cryptologic enterprise, have given me a deep appreciation of NSA’s critical
importance to the nation. I am honored to have been nominated to lead NSA and
serve with its incredibly talented professionals.
NSA’s excellence in Signals Intelligence and Cybersecurity create unparalleled
advantage for the nation. If confirmed, my focus will be to strengthen that
advantage. As our nation’s competitors seek to reshape the international order and

challenge our military advantages, we must leverage our competitive strengths –
people, innovation, and partnerships.
I believe every great success starts with the people. NSA has great people and an
incredible mission. To sustain that success, NSA must continue to attract diverse
talent from across the nation while also providing the environment where they can
thrive and develop. If confirmed, I will ensure that whether an individual stays for
a few years or dedicates their entire professional career to NSA, people will
continue to be our foundation and our legacy.
Technology continues to advance at an incredible rate. I have always been
impressed with how NSA successfully innovates to remain on the cutting edge of
technological advances. Its culture of innovation, its highly skilled workforce, and
its record of success in applying artificial intelligence and advanced computing
posture it well to adapt and apply the latest technologies to further advance its
mission.
Throughout NSA’s history it has learned the great value of partnerships, a lesson
significantly reinforced by recent experiences in response to Russia’s unlawful
invasion of Ukraine and initiatives to meet the near and long term challenges of the
People’s Republic of China (PRC). NSA’s ability to work in collaboration across
the interagency, the private sector, and foreign partners is one of the agency’s
greatest strengths and critically important to our nation’s success in a world of
accelerating change.
If confirmed, I will focus on ensuring the health and effectiveness of NSA and its
world-class employees in delivering outcomes against national priorities by
delivering foreign intelligence, ensuring cybersecurity, protecting national security
systems and providing combat support to the Department of Defense. I will focus
on strengthening the workforce, ensuring a culture of compliance, investing to
leverage new technologies, and prioritizing threats facing the nation -- especially
the pacing challenge posed by the PRC.
In closing, I am humbled and honored to be considered for these positions. The
nation faces challenges at unprecedented scale – if confirmed, I look forward to
teaming with this committee to posture ourselves to quickly seize opportunities to
meet and outmaneuver those challenges. Chairman Warner, Vice Chairman Rubio,
and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to be here this
afternoon. I look forward to answering your questions.