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Reinier Cruz
Reinier Cruz is the Deputy Director for the Human/Counter-Intelligence Division, Directorate of Intelligence (J2), United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. He has been with USSOCOM for 27 years with 33 years of total intelligence service.
He previously served as the Director for Foreign Materiel Acquisition, Human/Counter-Intelligence Division; Deputy Director for Intelligence Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Capabilities and Programs. Mr. Cruz provided leadership and management oversight for USSOCOM J2’s $4.5B intelligence portfolio to include, but not limited to Identity Intelligence Operations; Signals Intelligence; Tagging, Tracking, and Locating capabilities; Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance Platforms, Sensors, Communications, Processing Exploitation Dissemination; and automated intelligence systems. He was the J2’s lead for the Commander’s Strategic Planning Process, supporting SOF Vision 2020, and formerly the J2 lead for innovation.
Mr. Cruz has deployed multiple times in support of the war on terrorism. In 2018-2019, he deployed to Afghanistan as the Special Operations Joint Task Chief for Human Intelligence and Counterintelligence. In 2015-2016, he served as a senior intelligence officer for our National Mission Force in the Middle East. In 2010, he served as the senior targeting and debriefing specialist with our National Mission Force in Afghanistan.
Mr. Cruz’s previous USSOCOM assignments include 4 years as the Deputy Director for Intelligence
Capability and Programs, 4 years as the Deputy Director/Acting Director, Joint Intelligence Center; Deputy Director, SOCOM Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF); Director, SOCOM Joint Inter-Agency Collaboration Center; Chief, Counter-Proliferation; Senior Intelligence Officer for Counter-Terrorism; and Chief, Computer Operations and Intelligence Systems.
In June 1988, Mr. Cruz entered federal service within the Intelligence Community. He held multiple duty assignments to include counter-terrorism analyst, deputy program manager for a terrorism analysis system, terrorism watch officer in the National Military Joint Intelligence Center, systems analyst for arms control treaty monitoring, and geospatial analyst for counterdrug and counter-terrorism missions.
Mr. Cruz was born in Ft. Benning, GA. He is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He
received his Baccalaureate degree in Computer Science with a minor in Aeronautical Science, in 1988.
Mr. Cruz has earned the DIA’s Director Award; Defense Intelligence Career Service Award; the Department of Defense Human Intelligence Team Award (Special Operations); two Intelligence Agency Directorate Awards, one Central Intelligence Community Award, and several deployment awards. He has one son, Joshua, a first-year medical student at George Washington University (2023).
(At Retirement 31 March 2021)