The Department of the Army has named Brandon Pugh as principal cyber advisor, with the top-level duties of advising the secretary of the Army and the Army chief of staff on cyber matters and implementing the Pentagon’s cyber strategy in the Army.
“I would like to thank both President Trump and Secretary Driscoll for giving me the opportunity to serve our great country, especially in an area that I am passionate about and there is much to do,” Pugh said in a social media post announcing the appointment.
Pugh succeeds Michael Sulmeyer, who left the Army position last year to become the first-ever cyber policy chief for the Defense Department (DoD).
Pugh is a familiar face in Federal cybersecurity policy circles. Since 2022, he has worked as the director of cybersecurity and emerging threats policy at the R Street Institute think tank, and since 2023 as a non-resident fellow at the Army Cyber Institute.
He served a four-year stint in the U.S. Army JAG Corps from 2019 to 2024, and from 2012 to 2019 was president and CEO at American Consulting and Training LLC.