Mark Swayne

Mark Swayne is the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Stability and Humanitarian Affairs (SHA) within ASD for Special Operations/Low – Intensity Conflict (SO/LIC) in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD) for Policy. SHA develops defense policy for embassy security, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, peacekeeping, stability operations, international rule of law, prevention of atrocities, human rights, lethal autonomous weapons systems, and women, peace and security. Mark previously served as the Director for North-West-Central Africa and Horn of Africa Regional Director in OUSD Policy. Mark retired from the U.S. Navy in 2008, and he has been working defense policy issues since January 2002. Previous to working at OSD Policy, Mark was the State Department and Interagency Liaison officer for the U.S. Africa Command's Pentagon Office. His active duty defense policy assignments included: • Special Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany; • Deputy POLAD for Africa, U.S. European Command; • Director for African Affairs, White House National Security Council; • Central and West Africa Branch Chief, Joint Staff J5 Africa; and • Congressional Fellow to Senator John Warner. Previous to working on defense policy issues, Mark’s Naval Flight Officer assignments included: • Admiral's Aide, Commander U.S. Second Fleet; and • Radar Intercept Officer, F-14 Tomcat and Bombardier-Navigator, A-6 Intruder with 2,500 flying hours, 650 carrier traps, 4 aircraft carrier deployments flying over Iraq, Bosnia, and Somalia, and he led combat missions over Iraq. Mark was commissioned through Naval ROTC at Norwich University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and he has a Master of Business Administration. He and his wife Veronica have been married for 29 years and have two adult sons.