Kelton "KJ" Jago
Kelton “KJ” Jago serves as the Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). He brings nearly four decades of operational and intelligence experience from the U.S. Army and U.S. Marshals Service. In his current role, he guides the Center’s efforts to analyze and integrate all intelligence related to terrorism and to drive whole-of-government strategic operational planning to protect the nation from terrorist threats.
Mr. Jago spent 28 years in the U.S. Marshals Service, where he led complex, multiagency operations, and integrated efforts across the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Defense (DoD), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He held positions such as Chief of the Global Threat Awareness Program, Special Operations Group National Capital Region Task Force Commander, Deputy Country Attaché for Afghanistan, Deputy Assistant Director of the Investigative Operations Division, Deputy Commander of the Special Operations Group, and Deputy Assistant Director for Special Operations for the DOJ International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP).
From 1990 to 2021, Mr. Jago served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He led teams on sensitive missions, managed training and integration, and worked in both strategic and tactical operations. He held leadership positions such as Detachment Commander for U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) and U.S. Special Operations Command’s (SOCOM) J2X Joint Support Activity, and was an Operations Officer for the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Human Intelligence.
Over his career, Mr. Jago has been recognized for his valor and excellence with multiple awards, including commendations from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and U.S. Marshals Service. Mr. Jago holds a Bachelor of Arts from Ohio University and a Master’s in National Security Strategy from the National War College.
He lives in Northern Virginia, with his family. In his free time, he enjoys race car driving and teaching veterans how to drive high-performance vehicles.