Lieutenant General Robert P. Ashley serves as Senior Advisor to the Chairman, providing strategic advice on all intelligence-related matters for Arcanum and its clients. At Arcanum, General Ashley plays a pivotal role in strategic assessments and maintaining key stakeholder relationships with the Military and Intelligence Community.
Lt. Gen. Ashley served as the United States’ highest-ranking military intelligence officer in his capacity when he assumed the position of the 21st Director of the DIA from 2017 to 2020, responsible to the Secretary of Defense for global security and risk management.
He has over 36 years of leadership, operational and combat experience in intelligence, global security, and risk management.
Prior to his appointment to head the DIA, Lt. Gen. Ashley served as the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-2, where he was the senior advisor to the Secretary of the Army and Army Chief of Staff on all matters of Intelligence, Counterintelligence and Security, and was responsible for the training, equipping, policy and oversight of the Army Intelligence Corps’ 58,000 soldiers and civilians. As part of this role, Lt. Gen. Ashley was Commandant for the Army’s Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca in Arizona, where he trained more than 10,000 soldiers annually in multiple intelligence specialties including cyber, counter-intelligence, analysis, HUMINT, OSINT and reconnaissance collection systems.
Lt. Gen. Ashely’s other key assignments include the Director of Intelligence, United States Army Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC); the Director of Intelligence, United States Central Command (CENTCOM); the Deputy Chief of Staff (Intelligence) – International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan; and Commanding General, the United States Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca, AZ.
With decades of active duty behind him, Lt. Gen. Ashley’s previous assignments include Fort Bragg, NC, Washington, D.C.; Fort Gordon, Georgia; MacDill Air Force Base, Florida; Izmir, Turkey; and deployments to Operation JOINT FORGE in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM in Iraq and Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan. He has served at the company, battalion, squadron and brigade levels with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a squadron, brigade commander and J-2.
Lt. Gen. Ashley commanded the 206th Military Intelligence Battalion in Fort Gordon, Georgia; Intelligence Squadron, Office of Military Support, Washington, DC; and the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (Airborne), XVIII Airborne Corps.
Lt. Gen. Ashley received a BA in Political Science from Appalachian State University, an MA in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University (formerly known as the Defense Intelligence College) and an MA in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. His awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal (2OLC), Legion of Merit (1OLC) and Bronze Star Medal (2OLC). In addition, he has also earned the Parachutist Badge, Army Aviation Crewmember Badge, Army Staff Identification Badge and Australian Parachutist Badge.
He is based in the Company’s North Carolina and Washington, DC offices.