Brigadier General Shannon O’Harren

Deputy Director for ISR Operations U.S. Joint Staff

Brig. Gen. Shannon O'Harren is the Deputy Director for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Operations on the Joint Staff. As DDISRO, he provides recommendations to the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for ISR asset allocation and authorities. He optimizes risk mitigation strategies with services, combatant commanders, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and interagency partners while utilizing modeling and simulation techniques to inform ISR operational employment decisions.

Brig. Gen. O'Harren earned his commission in 1992 as a graduate of the ROTC program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is a career Intelligence Officer and served as a National Aeronautics and Space Administration Military Liaison Officer and aircrew member. He has since held numerous key staff positions at the unit, operational, combatant command, Joint Staff and Office of the Secretary of Defense levels. He has directed and commanded specialty joint and interagency teams and supported numerous overseas contingency operations.

Prior to his current position, he served simultaneously as Military Deputy of the Secretary of Defense Anomalous Health Incidents Cross Functional Team and Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Sixteenth Air Force.