Deputy Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, U.S. Department of Defense
Mr. Jedidiah P. Royal, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, was appointed as Deputy Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency in June 2021. He oversees DSCA’s diverse portfolio of Security Cooperation programs, engaging with external stakeholders to synchronize DSCA activities with foreign policy and national security objectives.
Prior to joining DSCA, Mr. Royal served as the Director of Defense Policy and Plans at the US Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In this capacity, Mr. Royal represented the United States to the NATO alliance on defense policy, capability, planning, deterrence, burden sharing and partnership matters. Prior to his position at NATO Mr. Royal served in a variety of positions within the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, most recently as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia affairs. He was also detailed to the National Security Council at the White House as Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2013-2015, served as the Director for Cooperative Threat Reduction Policy in the office of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction from 2010-2013, and served on exchange in Canberra, Australia as the Director of Strategic Advice in the Australian Department of Defence from 2007 – 2010. Mr. Royal started his federal career in the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2001.
Mr. Royal holds the degree of M. PHIL from the University of New South Wales where his research and writing focused on the economic-security nexus, in particular the consequences of economic volatility on security relationships. He completed his undergraduate studies in International Affairs at The George Washington University.