Brig. Gen. Jarrod Gillam, U.S. Army, is the Acting Deputy Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). Before coming to DTRA in 2026 to be the Director of Combat Support, he served as the Director of the U.S. Army Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Agency (USANCA). He is an Army Nuclear and Counterproliferation officer with more than 35 years of Active, Reserve and National Guard military experience, with multiple combat and operational deployments.
General Gillam was commissioned into the Infantry in 2000 as an ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate. He completed Special Forces training in 2006 and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Carson, Colorado. During this time, he commanded Operational Detachment-Alpha 0326 and served as a battalion and group-level operations officer and planner.
Between 2012 and 2018, General Gillam held pivotal operational and interagency roles:
- Company Commander & Planner: Led A Company, 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, conducting multiple operational deployments in support of U.S. Special Operations Commands Europe and Africa.
- Interagency Operations Officer: Detailed to the U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) Bureau of Counterterrorism, where he served on the Foreign Emergency Support Team, deploying to the Middle East, East Asia-Pacific, and Africa.
In 2018, General Gillam transitioned from Special Forces to the U.S. Army’s Functional Area 52 (Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction). He represented U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) interests within the Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation until attending the National War College in 2021. Following graduation, he served in high-level defense policy and advisory roles, including Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, and Senior Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs.
General Gillam holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from McDaniel College, a Master of Science in Defense Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School, a Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National War College, and a Graduate Certificate in Nuclear Weapons Effects, Policy and Proliferation from the Air Force Institute of Technology.