Merry-Go-Round

Remember Teri Takai? She is the former chief information officer for the state of California who was nominated by President Obama in March to be assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration. Her nomination got caught up in Defense Secretary Robert Gates' hunt for operating efficiencies, an endeavor that saw that assistant secretary position eliminated. This morning the Defense Department announced that Takai was being appointed the department's new chief information officer.

The position Takai was originally nominated for required Senate confirmation. The Senate Armed Services Committee planned to consider Takai's nomination on Aug. 3. But the committee dropped Takai from its list of nominees for that August hearing because of Gates' decision to do away with the office Takai would have led.

During an August 9 press briefing Gates said:

We will stand up a refashioned and strengthened chief information officer, or CIO, and under its umbrella responsibility for daily operations will be assigned to the Defense Information Systems Agency.

According to this morning's DOD announcement, Takai will:

... help lead the effort to disestablish NII and define the successor CIO organization. Accordingly, Takai will also temporarily serve as the Acting NII during this transition period.