Vincent R. Stewart, a Jamaican immigrant who rose to become a lieutenant general in the Marine Corps and served as the first black director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, died April 28 at his home in Aldie, Virginia, at 64.
His wife Phyllis Stewart confirmed the death but did not give a cause.
General Stewart recalled that when he joined the Marines in 1981, he hoped to be “part of something bigger” after working as a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman and studying history at Western Illinois University. He expected to serve only a few years in the military, but instead stayed in the Marine Corps for nearly four decades, rising from a position as a platoon commander in a tank unit to the nation’s highest-ranking military intelligence officer.
As head of the Defense Intelligence Agency from January 2015 to October 2017, he advised the President, lawmakers and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on global threats and national security issues, including the strength of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, the impact of the Russian Troops in the Syrian Civil War and the progress of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and advanced missile programs.
“Let’s focus on understanding the enemy’s military capabilities so we can prevent war,” he told national security website Cipher Brief in 2016, outlining his priorities. “And if we can’t prevent war, we’ll flatten anyone who opposes us.”
The agency’s current director, Army Lt. Gen. Scott D. Berrier, said in a phone interview that General Stewart is “a larger-than-life presence at DIA” known for initiating “major changes and modernization efforts” that are ongoing in intelligence gathering of the benefit the nation.
These included shifting the DIA’s focus from counterterrorism to what General Stewart called “long-term existential threats,” including from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. He also worked to deepen partnerships with US allies, notably through the creation of a new position – deputy director for Commonwealth Integration – to be filled in rotation by officials from America’s intelligence partners in the “Five Eyes” alliance, which includes Australia , Great Britain, Canada and Australia belong to New Zealand.
Internally, General Stewart sought to bolster workplace culture by establishing a DIA museum and establishing fitness and worship centers at the agency’s headquarters, part of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in southeast Washington.
“He gave that persona of a battle-hardened Marine,” Berrier said, “but when you got into Vince Stewart, there was a little softer approach there.”
This view was shared by retired Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., a former commander of the Marine Corps and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In a phone interview he said first gained credit for General Stewart during the Iraq War when General Stewart served for a time as head of military intelligence efforts in the western province of Anbar.
“People wanted to be on his team,” Dunford recalls. “He was one of those people that when he asked how you were, if you were a subordinate, he waited for an answer.”
General Stewart served as a one-star general as director of Marine Corps Intelligence and was commander of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command before being appointed head of DIA.
“Everywhere he’s gone,” said Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. upon his appointment, “he’s perfected the fundamentals of intelligence work.”
When General Stewart took over the DIA and became the first Marine Corps officer to serve as director, a US-led coalition was struggling to push back an Islamic State insurgency that had gripped Syria and Iraq. He accurately predicted in 2016 that the militant group would set up branches in Afghanistan, Yemen and several African countries. He was later credited with a key role in the development of the US Cyber Command, where he ended his career as Deputy Commander before retiring in 2019 and starting his own consulting firm.
While some other senior military officers quietly retired, General Stewart occasionally made headlines, including when he criticized Trump for inciting rioters during the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
General Stewart told the website Task & Purpose that after years of “encouraging other countries to follow our example” and adhere to democratic principles, “it will now be extremely difficult to get that message across”.
“If China cracks down on dissidents,” he said, “how can we offer ‘rule of law’ as the best approach?”
General Stewart also spoke out against racial injustice, both inside and outside the military. After the 2020 killing of George Floyd sparked nationwide protests against police brutality, he penned an impassioned op-ed published by Task & Purpose and the Cipher Brief, titled “Please take your knee off our necks, so we can breathe.”
“It’s hard to put into words how the nonchalant killing of a black man by Minneapolis police officers struck me personally and saddened me for our country,” he began, adding that the picture of a police officer resting his knee on Floyd’s neck ” convinced me that I can no longer remain silent.”
General Stewart recalled the pain he felt after immigrating to the United States at age 13, where as a young black man in Chicago, I “felt I had no future apart from manual, low-skilled labor and that Dreaming of being an executive or owning a business was out of the question.”
He was stopped by police “almost every time” he left his home, intimidated by a local sheriff and said he faced additional discrimination after joining the Marine Corps, where he was passed over for outstanding duties and as a The unit was designated “best black officer” rather than its “best officer”.
He said he found success in part through the mentorship of pioneering black officers like General Colin L. Powell. He was also supported by white officers like Dunford, whom he described as part of a trio of generals who “lifted and carried me to the top of my profession”.
When asked about the obstacles General Stewart faced, Dunford said his friend and colleague “knew it might be harder for him than others” and believed he could overcome obstacles by overworking others.
Among those close to General Stewart was General David H. Berger, the current commander of the Marine Corps. In a statement, he described General Stewart as “a trailblazer, a selfless leader, and a mentor and dear personal friend to me,” adding that “his influence as a leader in the Marines and the broader intelligence community cannot be underestimated.”
General Stewart said in his 2020 opinion article that he “will always believe in the promise of America, for if the dream isn’t possible here, it’s not possible anywhere.”
“As a person who has found incredible success in this country,” he wrote, “I make a direct appeal to those in positions of power and privilege to recognize the experiences of your fellow Americans who do not look like you, learn from them, and take meaningful action.” to raise them.
“And I want you to imagine what our country would be like then.”
Vincent Raymond Stewart was born on May 11, 1958 in Kingston, Jamaica. According to his wife, he was raised primarily with his mother, a domestic servant who spent two years in Bermuda working and saving money so she could afford General Stewart and his older sister’s move to the United States in 1971.
The family settled on the north side of Chicago where General Stewart played football and won an athletic scholarship to West Illinois. Coincidentally, the school got its nickname “Fighting Leathernecks” from the US Marine Corps, which General Stewart joined after graduating.
He later attended the US Naval War College, where he received a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies in 1995, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at the National Defense University, where he received his master’s degree in national resource strategy in 2002.
In addition to his wife, survivors include five children, Vincent, Robert, Nicole, Jennifer and Patrick; three sisters; a brother; and 15 grandchildren.
General Stewart received military awards including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, two Legion of Merit awards, and the Bronze Star. But in interviews, he downplayed his successes, such as when the Cipher Brief asked him what his “success secret” was.
“I’ve turned up on time most of the time and occasionally in the right uniform,” he said, “and I haven’t imploded.”