Kenneth P. Rapuano is an American Marine who has held various global security-related posts within the U.S. federal government. He most recently served from June 2017 to January 2021 as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security in the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

, having been confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 12, 2017, by a vote of 95–1.

Early life and education

Rapuano is the son of Alfred and Catherine Rapuano, and a native of

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a Village (New Jersey), village in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Ridgewood is a suburban commuter town, bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown M ...

, where he graduated from Ridgewood High School in 1980. Following high school, he graduated with a B.S. in Political Science from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

and an M.S. in National Security Studies from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Military

Rapuano served 21 years in the

United States Marines Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

on active duty and the reserve as an infantryman and intelligence officer with deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan. He deployed to Iraq in 2003, where he commanded the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center of the Iraq Survey Group established to conduct the mission of surveying and exploiting possible weapons of mass destruction activities throughout Iraq. In 2006, he left his position as Deputy Homeland Security Advisor to President George W. Bush to volunteer for active duty deployment to Afghanistan. He deployed as a Marine Corps intelligence officer with the Joint Special Operations Task Force, establishing and directing a targeting fusion center tracking high-value terrorists and insurgents.

Career

Rapuano has previously worked for the think tanks ANSER and

Mitre Corporation The Mitre Corporation (stylized as The MITRE Corporation and MITRE) is an American not-for-profit organization with dual headquarters in Bedford, Massachusetts, and McLean, Virginia. It manages federally funded research and development centers ...

. At ANSER, he simultaneously served as a Senior Vice President while also acting as the Executive Director of the Studies & Analysis Group. Prior to working for ANSER, he was the President of Homeland Security at ICx Technologies. Rapuano has previously served as the Deputy Homeland Security Advisor to President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, the Deputy Undersecretary for Counter-Terrorism at the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...

, and as a Special Assistant in International Security Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapuano, Kenneth Living people United States Marines First Trump administration personnel George W. Bush administration personnel United States Department of Defense officials United States Department of Energy officials People from Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood High School (New Jersey) alumni Year of birth missing (living people)