Dr. James A. Day
Acting Deputy Director Pentagon Force Protection Agency
Dr. James A. Day is currently serving as the Acting Deputy Director of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. In this role, he serves as the principal advisor and executive confidant to the Director, PFPA, with complete authority to act for and make commitments on all matters regarding the functions and responsibilities of the PFPA.
Dr. Day was selected as the PFPA Executive Director for Security Integration and Technology in June 2018, responsible for the development and operation of the Pentagon’s comprehensive technical solutions across the CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high explosive), information technology, security services, and systems engineering domains. He also oversees the following mission integration functions for the Agency: facilities, acquisitions, and logistics; recruitment, medical, and fitness; financial management; and human capital program management.
Dr. Day held the positions of Chief of Staff and Chief of Science and Technology. He performed technical assessments of programs, implemented new technical capabilities and improved overall operations and security for the Pentagon by introducing the Computer Aided Dispatch/Records Management System and upgrading the PFPA Incident Notification System. He also reviewed CBRNE, access control, and in-place monitoring systems.
Prior to joining the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, Dr. Day worked for SAIC as a project lead for environmental, legislative, and budget support to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Elimination of Chemical Weapons). His team supported the Army’s program to destroy chemical munitions. During his tenure, the Army completely eliminated the chemical cache in Newport, Indiana, and met every major Chemical Warfare Convention treaty milestone toward depleting the National stockpile, including final closure of the Johnston Atoll Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility.
Dr. Day is a former member of the Homeland Security Institute, which is a Congressionally Chartered Federally Funded Research and Development Center. There, he researched gaps that responded to National-level chemical, biological, and radiological events. He also proposed transition of the USDA programs focused on zoonotic and animal diseases at Plum Island, and facilitated the effort leading to a Homeland Security Presidential Directive on chemical defense.
Dr. Day began his professional career as a chemist at Midwest Research Institute, monitoring atmospheric samples for biological warfare agents and performing process improvement for chemical and biological monitoring systems.
Dr. Day holds a doctorate in Environmental Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He also holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with honors in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a graduate certificate in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.