Dave Brant
Director NCIS (Ret.)
Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)
During Mr. Brant’s tenure, he directed modernization of NCIS and transformed the agency from a small US Navy staff to an internationally renowned and highly valued member of the US Intelligence and National Security Agencies.
Accomplishments
- Challenged the DOD’s support for the torture program
- Developed new approach for counterintelligence
- Led the implementation of law enforcement information sharing
- Oversaw agency-wide modernization
- Awarded Distinguished Service Award by Navy Secretary
Dave Brant: Reflections
- “Externally, doing the right thing was supported by my hierarchy – in Navy, DoD. and Congress. Therefore I was able to use that support to develop a strategy and overcome the many many obstacles we faced in our transformation.”
- “Internally, many were hesitant and saw the effort as a waste of time – or worse – and were constantly creating obstacles in virtually every operational and administrative program As the leader, I understood that if we were not clear in our strategies and required performance, and did not monitor progress and compliance, the strategy would not succeed and the transformation would not have occurred.“
- “If there is not a leadership-driven strategy in place, you are doomed to mediocrity or a stay the course mentality. As we honestly began to address our own performance expectations, each person in my executive staff realized that the intellect, the insight, the objectivity of thought that was needed was simply not available from our own resources. We needed to reach out for the wisdom and the courage needed to address these difficult questions that we could not answer ourselves.”