QUANTICO, Va. — Special Agent Gregory D. Ford assumed responsibility as director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID), during a Transfer of Authority ceremony at the Pentagon, in Arlington, Va., Friday.
Ford is the first civilian special agent assigned as the director for the organization since it was established as a major command on Sept. 17, 1971. Ford assumed authority from Brig. Gen. Duane Miller, who served in the position since August. Miller will remain as the Provost Marshal General of the Army and the commander of the Army Corrections Command.
“It is my great privilege to lead the organization through this time of unprecedented change,” Ford said during his remarks. “CID has a long proud history of service to the Army and the nation. The transformation occurring now is not meant to erase or minimize that history, but rather to build upon it to ensure CID is ever-ready to provide superior criminal investigative support to the total force across all domains and in all locations around the globe in order to maintain the readiness of the United States Army.”
As Ford becomes director, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command is being renamed the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division. A name first associated with the organization in 1918, when Gen. John Pershing directed the Provost Marshal General of his American Expeditionary Forces to organize a criminal investigation division within the Military Police Corps for the purpose of detecting and preventing crimes within the territory occupied by the American Expeditionary Forces.
Previously announced by the Army in May, the CID restructure follows recommendations from the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee. The restructure effort splits the duties that were previously assigned to one person, dual-hatted as both the CID Commanding General and the Army’s Provost Marshal General, to focus the new civilian leadership solely on the criminal investigative process. Ford’s selection as director is an important step forward and one of several changes to come as the restructure process continues.
Ford said the transformation “will require a shift in how CID views itself and how it is viewed by others. Historically, the organization was viewed as an Army command tasked with law enforcement duties. We must now clearly establish CID as an elite federal law enforcement agency that operates within and in support of the Department of the Army.”
“I would like to encourage every member of CID to be a part of the change and to actively contribute ideas to the discussion,” said Ford during his first address to the newly named Division. “While the organization is comprised of active duty agents, civilian agents, and a variety of professionals who support those agents, we are one CID and need to remain focused on the criminal investigative mission. The organization has many talented and dedicated people who are committed to ensuring CID meets the unique needs of the Army and sets the bar for the military criminal investigative organizations.”
Under the restructure, CID will feature a higher ratio of civilian criminal investigators to military special agents in order to increase investigative experience, stability and grow effective partnerships with local and regional law enforcement agencies.
“To bring about that change, CID leadership will focus on four complementary lines of effort: operational excellence, talent management, modernization, and partnerships,” said Ford. “Additionally, the organization will commit to a culture of multi-tiered internal oversight and continuous assessment.”
Christopher Lowman, the senior official performing the duties of the Under Secretary of the Army hosted the ceremony and thanked Miller for his leadership and contributions during his tenure at CID.
“General Miller, thank you for your hard work over the last three years,” Lowman said. “We look forward to your continued efforts in synchronizing Army law enforcement across the enterprise.”
Lowman stressed his confidence in Ford as he assumes the position as the first civilian director of CID.
“Greg will undoubtedly shepherd us from this initial starting point to the aimpoint of our redesign,” Lowman said. “I am convinced that he will be supported by those agencies and working groups that have already brought us this far.”
“This ceremony is only the beginning Director Ford. You have a challenging task ahead of you. Rest assured, you have the full support of the leaders in this room and across the Army,” Lowman said. “You have an outstanding group of special agents and investigative professionals hard at work.”
In his last official act as CID commanding general, Miller addressed the law enforcement professionals he has known for the past several years.
“Today marks an important change within the Military Police Corps and our Army,” Miller said.
“Great organizations continuously seek ways to improve and in some cases those changes can seem daunting. However, if we never realize the new possibilities that loom on the horizon, we may never reach excellence, but that’s not the case for CID nor is it the United States Army way.”
Miller said he is fully confident Ford will deliver CID to the next level.
“When I look to the future of CID, I see nothing but continued professionalism and increasing capabilities for the Military Police Corps and our Army,” added Miller. “The role that CID plays in the Army’s story is ever evolving. Now, Greg and his team, have the honor of guiding us through the next phase of its journey.”
During the ceremony, Ford thanked his family and circle of friends, and Miller “for the open and candid discussions we’ve had over the last several weeks and for turning over such a professional and dedicated team.”
He also expressed his gratitude for the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff of the Army for their faith and confidence to appoint him to this position stating he is “honored to have been selected as the first civilian director of Army CID.”
“We have an important mission; first to prevent crime and protect life and then to investigate criminal allegations to uncover the truth,” said Ford. “We cannot succeed if we don’t hold ourselves to a higher standard than others would hold us to.”
A veteran federal law enforcement officer with a skillset of more than 20 years’ at both the local and federal level, Ford was promoted to the Senior Executive Service in December 2018. His experience includes 16 years at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) where he most recently served as the deputy director of operations. Ford joins CID as it reaches its 50th year as the Army’s independent investigative agency.
Ford began his career with NCIS in 2004. Prior to that he served in the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division, Washington, D.C. and on the FBI Washington, D.C. Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
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