iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
In a recent announcement from the Pentagon, it has come to know that it has appointed an Indian-American as the Chief of Staff to the Acting US Defense Secretary Chris Miller.
Kashyap Pramod Patel, popularly known as Kash Patel, currently on the National Security Council staff, has been named by Acting Secretary Miller as his Chief of Staff,” the Pentagon said on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Patel’s 39, appointment from the Pentagon comes a day after US President Donald Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper and designated the National Counter Terrorism Center Director, Chris Miller, as the Acting Secretary of Defense.
Chris Miller took over the functions and responsibilities of the new role on 9 November, the Pentagon announced.
The Indian-American replaced Jen Stewart, who had resigned earlier.
Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Dr. James Anderson, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Joseph Kernan have submitted letters of resignation.
Patel, the Indian-American had previously served as senior counsel for Counterterrorism at the House Permanent Select Committee.
Patel was appointed as senior director of the Counterterrorism Directorate of the National Security Council (NSC) in the White House back in June 2019.
New York-born Patel has his roots in Gujarat. However, his parents are from East Africa – mother from Tanzania and father from Uganda. They came to the US from Canada in 1970. The family moved to Queens in New York.
After his schooling in New York and college in Richmond, Virginia, and law school in New York, Patel went to Florida where he was a state public defender for four years and then federal public defender for another four years.
While still employed by the Department of Justice, he went as a civilian to join Special Operations Command at the Department of Defense.
At the Pentagon, he sat as the Department of Justice’s lawyer with Special Forces people and worked interagency collaborative targeting operations around the world.
After a year in this sensitive position, Congressman Davin Nunes, Chairman of the House Permanent Select on Intelligence Committee, pulled him as senior counsel on counterterrorism.
