WASHINGTON — The White House on Feb. 3 announced the appointment of new members to President Biden’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. 

Among the newly selected members of the NSTAC are Johnathon Caldwell, vice president of military space at Lockheed Martin, and Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO of telecommunications satellite operator Viasat.

The NSTAC, chaired by Microsoft vice president Scott Charney, has a total of 30 presidentially appointed industry executives who advise the White House on the security, reliability and preparedness of the nation’s critical communications and information infrastructure.

The committee was created in 1982 by an executive order signed by President Ronald Reagan.

The board serves as a liaison between government agencies and the private sector. 

Since its inception, the panel has focused on national security issues such as network security, global infrastructure resiliency, infrastructure interdependencies and international incident management.

Credit: CYBERSECURITY & INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY

Sandra Erwin writes about military space programs, policy, technology and the industry that supports this sector. She has covered the military, the Pentagon, Congress and the defense industry for nearly two decades as editor of NDIA’s National Defense...