President Donald Trump has nominated James Mazol and James Caggy to serve as the deputy assistant secretary and assistant secretary of the Department of Defense, respectively. The White House announced the nominations of Mazol, the senior adviser of the Office of the Undersecretary for Research and Engineering, and Caggy, the adviser for DOD’s Strategic Capabilities Office, on July 1.
Caggy could be the first assistant defense secretary for mission capabilities if he were confirmed by the upper chamber, according to Inside Defense. His new assistant secretary role was created through a 2023 memo issued by Deputy Defense Secretary and four-time Wash100 winner Kathleen Hicks.
Caggy said on LinkedIn that he was honored to be nominated.
“If confirmed, I’ll bring the same mission-first, bureaucracy-last mindset that’s driven me my entire career. Collaborating with all to deliver the best American capabilities for the Joint Force,” he said.
Career Backgrounds of James Mazol & James Caggy
Before Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael assumed his post, Mazol served as the acting under secretary of defense for research and engineering.
Before that, he worked in the Senate for eight years, serving as a national security adviser and a policy director for two of the chamber’s committees.
For his part, Caggy held two executive positions in Amazon Web Services prior to being part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including being the senior manager of DOD solutions. He also became an infantry officer in the U.S. Army. He started his career as the chief engineer of MAP Digital: Metameetings.
