The Pentagon has quietly replaced Marc Berkowitz as the department’s space policy chief, with his former deputy, Michael Gancio, who is now serving as acting assistant secretary.
“The Department is grateful for [Assistant Secretary of War] Berkowitz’s service and wishes him well in his future endeavors,” a Defense Department (DOD) spokesperson told MeriTalk.
Under the Trump administration, the DOD was rebranded as the War Department.
The DOD has not publicly provided additional details about Berkowitz’s departure. The change was not formally announced, but the department’s website was updated to reflect the transition.
Berkowitz’s biography now identifies him as the former assistant secretary, while Gancio’s lists him as the acting assistant secretary.
Berkowitz was confirmed by the Senate in December and officially began serving in the position in January. As assistant secretary of defense for space policy, he was responsible for leading the analysis, planning, formulation, coordination and oversight of the implementation of policy, guidance, and strategy for space and missile defense activities.
Gancio is serving as both acting assistant secretary and principal deputy assistant secretary. He previously served on the staff of Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, as director of analysis, where he advised the chairman on the substance and quality of analysis produced by the intelligence community.
Before that, Gancio covered space threats as an analyst in the intelligence community. He joined the community as an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency and served for three years as deputy national intelligence officer for space at the National Intelligence Council.