The Defense Intelligence Agency on April 5 announced the appointment of a new deputy director, effective in August. Melissa Drisko, currently DIA's director for rank-in-person implementation, will assume the role.

DIA Director Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart said in the release announcing the appointment that Drisko is "the right choice as a partner in leading this agency. She speaks truth to power, unbiased and unblemished – this is the mark of a true leader" who is "whole-heartedly committed to DIA and to serving our country."

Drisko's past experience includes work at the Office of Naval Intelligence, the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the Central Intelligence Agency. She also previously worked in a variety of roles within DIA.

Drisko replaces Douglas Wise, who will retire in August, according to a DIA spokesman.

The appointment comes less than two weeks after news that the former DIA deputy director preceding Wise, David Shedd, used Pentagon transportation as a "personal limousine service," according to a Defense Department inspector general report obtained by the Washington Post. Shedd, who retired from DIA in January 2015, denied any wrongdoing.

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