Marines get historic new CIO, Lorna Mahlock
The Marine Corps has quietly named a historic new CIO.
Lorna Mahlock — the first African-American woman nominated to serve as a brigadier general in the Marine Corps — is now also the service’s director of command, control, communications and computers (C4), and CIO.
Mahlock is also the Corps’ first female CIO, taking over the role in late May, her office confirmed to FedScoop.
Mahlock’s story received national coverage in the media in April after she was nominated for the promotion to brigadier general. Since then, the Senate confirmed her, but news of her appointment as Marine Corps CIO has gone uncovered.
Mahlock’s official promotion date is set for Aug. 3, and until then, her official title is brigadier general “select.”
Prior to taking over the Marines C4/CIO role, which sits under the leadership of the recently consolidated Department of the Navy CIO, Mahlock served as deputy director of plans, policy and operations, and commanding officer of the Marine Air Control Group 18 in Okinawa, Japan.
Mahlock, a native of Jamaica, was commissioned into the Marines in 1991 after immigrating to Brooklyn, New York.
She replaces Brig. Gen. Dennis Crall, who left the CIO role in February to serve in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as principal deputy cyber adviser at the Pentagon. Since then, Ken Bible, the deputy CIO, has been serving in an acting capacity.
