President Biden has nominated Mara Karlin, a Pentagon executive focused on international security affairs, to become the Department of Defense's (DOD) assistant secretary for strategy, plans and capabilities.
She currently serves as the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, a role through which she advises defense leadership on policies related to operations in Europe, Russia, Africa, the Western Hemisphere, and the Middle East, the White House said Friday.
Karlin began her public sector career as a civil servant at the Office of the Secretary of Defense and went on to fill various advisory roles related to national security.
She also led strategic studies and served as an associate professor for international studies at Johns Hopkins University. The defense executive also holds the secretary of defense's Meritorious Civilian Service Award.
