Navy Admiral Is Obama's Pick for Next NSA Director

A Navy admiral is President Barack Obama's choice to be the next head of the controversy-ridden National Security Agency. Vice Adm. Mike Rogers, the head of the Navy's Cyber Command and a former intelligence director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is being appointed to lead the NSA, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced yesterday. Rogers also is being nominated to get a fourth star and head US Cyber Command.

Rogers, who replaces Army Gen. Keith Alexander at the NSA, comes into the job facing the challenge of revamping the way the agency collects and stores its data. Alexander, who has served as NSA director for nearly nine years, plans to retire in mid-March. Rogers has long been considered the heir apparent for the job. His nomination to head Cyber Command requires Senate confirmation. The NSA job does not, but it will undoubtedly come up at the Cyber Command hearing, as lawmakers air their frustrations with the agency's data collection program and demand that he lay out his vision for how the NSA will move forward. (More NSA stories.)