Obama to nominate retired Army general for TSA post

A former Army intelligence officer is President Obama’s choice to head the Transportation Security Administration, an administration official said Monday.

The appointment of retired Gen. Robert Harding is expected later in the day, as the Obama administration adjusts the nation’s transportation safety system in the wake of the attempted airliner attack on Christmas Day.

Formerly the Pentagon’s leading intelligence official, Harding served in the Army for 33 years before his retirement in 2001. He has since gone on to serve as an intelligence consultant to the government.

If confirmed by the Senate, Harding would become the fifth person to lead the TSA, formed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Obama originally appointed Erroll Southers, a Los Angeles International Airport official, to serve in the position, but Southers withdrew from consideration as he faced an uphill confirmation battle.

“The TSA administrator is the most important unfilled post in the Obama administration,” the administration official said. “Mr. Harding has the experience and perspective to make a real difference in carrying out the mission of the agency. If there was ever a nominee that warranted expedited, but detailed, consideration in the Senate, this is it.”

Harding has served as chief executive of Harding Security Associates, which he founded in 2003 and sold in July 2009. HSA’s workforce of more than 400 provides expertise and strategic security solutions to government agencies in the intelligence and defense communities.

Harding retired from the Army as deputy G2 for intelligence in 2001. From 1996 to 2000, he was director for Operations at the Defense Intelligence Agency and was the Department of Defense’s senior human intelligence officer.

From 1995 to 1996, Harding served as the Director for Intelligence for the Army’s U.S. Southern Command, where he planned and executed operations in Latin America.

Harding, who serves on the board of directors of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and the Assn. of Former Intelligence Officers, was a member of Obama’s presidential transition team, where he focused on the intelligence community. He holds a bachelor’s in business administration from Bowie State University, a master’s in business from Salve Regina University and a master’s in national security and strategy from the U.S. Naval War College.

cparsons@tribune.com