Before stepping down as Director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), David Cattler left the national security community with a lasting message: trust is America’s greatest advantage. Speaking at ClearanceJobs Connect 2025, Cattler reflected on 35 years in uniform and government leadership, from his early days as a naval officer to leading DCSA through its most transformative era.
Cattler highlighted the sweeping reforms of Trusted Workforce 2.0, describing it not as a policy update but a “cultural shift”—one that modernizes personnel vetting to meet today’s dynamic security landscape.
Under his leadership, DCSA consolidated millions of records into a unified system, migrated legacy platforms to the cloud, and expanded continuous vetting—a program that detects risk years earlier than traditional reinvestigations.
Joining him on stage, Matthew Eanes, Director of the Performance Accountability Council Program Management Office, outlined the next phase: full-scale implementation across 100+ federal agencies. Eanes emphasized interoperability, agile modernization, and a customer-focused approach to building a more seamless and transparent clearance process.
As Cattler retired, his closing words resonated: “A trusted workforce isn’t just a national security necessity—it’s a national advantage.” His legacy lives on in the systems and people continuing that mission of trust, modernization, and fearless service.
