Ashley Manning, the principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for cyber policy, and Jonathan Owen, the acting deputy assistant secretary of Defense for homeland defense integration and defense support to civil authorities, have “moved on from their positions” at the Pentagon, a US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Hill on Tuesday.
It is unclear when Manning and Owen stepped down from their posts at the department or where they will land next.
“We are grateful for their service,” the defense official added.
Manning, who has held other roles within the Pentagon, assumed the leadership post in the DOD’s cyber policy office last year. The office was formally established in 2024 and formed out of a directive in the 2023 defense authorization bill.
Manning was responsible for “developing, coordinating, assessing and overseeing the implementation of DoD cyberspace policy and strategy and ensuring these efforts are aligned with overarching national security objectives.”
Owen, who has served in the State Department and is a Marine Corps veteran, was previously working in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence “while detailed” from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The shake-up comes days after the Pentagon’s tech innovation chief, Doug Beck, resigned from his post.
Earlier in August, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired three senior military officials — Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; Naval Special Warfare Command head Rear Adm. Milton Sands; and the head of the Navy Reserve, Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore.
Manning’s and Owen’s departures were first reported by Politico.