A legacy of service: Associate Director Kevin Jones retires after 46 years

Linthicum, Md. - On Feb. 19, over 100 leaders and colleagues, past and present, gathered to honor Kevin J. Jones, associate director for Security Training at the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA).

After 46 years of government service, the retirement ceremony told the story of a leader who shaped the security community from the ground up.

"Today is just not a farewell," said James Kren, deputy chief operating officer, Georgia Technical Research Institute and former deputy director, Defense Security Service (DSS). "It is a celebration of a remarkable legacy that has profoundly shaped the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, and by extension, our nation's security."

Jones progressed steadily through the ranks. After earning a degree in psychology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Jones entered public service in 1979 as a personnel security specialist. He held many roles including action officer, case controller, operations manager and supervisory investigator before being named the director of the Personnel Investigation Center in 1998.

A year later, Jones advanced to deputy chief of staff for personnel security investigations. In 2001, he became director of the Defense Security Service Academy and later served for many years as director of the Center for Development of Security Excellence, ultimately holding the position of associate director for Security Training.

Amongst guests and speakers, Erika Ragonese, deputy associate director of Security Training at DCSA spoke fondly of Jones's leadership.

"To work side by side with Mr. Jones is to know the quiet, calming presence in the room and know that you have consistency under pressure. It is to know a person is not seeking accolades, but to make sure we are doing better and evolving," remarked Ragonese.

Though Ragonese indicated Jones wasn't seeking recognition, over the course of nearly five decades of service, Jones earned many prestigious awards.

Most notably, in 2013, Jones became the first DSS senior executive to receive the Presidential Rank award - an honor reserved for those whose leadership and contributions set the national standard of excellence. In 2023, Jones earned a second Presidential Rank award.

With his wife and children by his side, Jones received multiple honors that drew standing ovations from the audience. He received a plaque, a letter from acting DCSA Deputy Director Tara Jones, and a shadow box from Security Training that featured a U.S. flag surrounded by coins and pins symbolizing his contributions to the agency.

Throughout his many roles, Jones earned recognition for designing and implementing lasting security training programs to educate security professionals across the department.

Depicting the significance behind each item in the shadow box, Ragonese noted that Jones was a significant factor in the drastic increase in annual Security Training completions across the defense enterprise -- rising from roughly 3,000 courses in the early 2000's to well over 5 million courses completed last year.

Jones views his retirement as "just transitioning. I will not be in this building, but I am never going away because I firmly believe that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

A clear theme echoed throughout the ceremony with many attendees remarking that Jones's service, leadership, and impact on the agency, its people, and the security community, will be felt for generations.

"Kevin's expertise is woven into the very fabric of DCSA. His vision, leadership, and commitment to continuous process improvement have become part of the agency's DNA. The systems, the processes and values that Jones instilled will continue to guide future generations, ensuring that DCSA remains ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow," remarked Kren.