Office Of The Under Secretary of Defense For Personnel & Readiness

Office of the Under Secretary of War for
Personnel & Readiness

Personnel & Readiness

MISSION

We are on a mission to ensure a strong, adaptable, and ready force supported through exceptional policy, programs, and services.

Civilian Personnel Policy (CPP) Leadership

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy

Mr. Michael A Cogar

Deputy Assistant Secretary of War

Mr. Michael A. Cogar is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Civilian Personnel Policy, a role he assumed on May 19, 2025. In this capacity, he oversees the development and implementation of civilian workforce plans, policies, and programs impacting over 945,000 Department of War employees worldwide. His responsibilities span the Human Capital Lifecycle—civilian compensation and benefits, labor employee relations, senior executive development, Equal Employment Opportunity and Civilian Anti-Harassment, talent acquisition, development, sustainment, performance management, strategic workforce planning, and civilian leader development—optimizing civilian capabilities to enhance operational lethality. Mr. Cogar’s skillset lends itself to the development of merit-based workforce strategies to align civilian talent with mission-critical needs and streamline Human Resources policy and procedures to increase readiness, ensuring a lean, high-performing workforce to support the Warfighter.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Cogar served as the Strategic Communications Lead and Change Management Deputy at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he played an essential role in the U.S. Army’s Integrated Personnel and Pay System – Army (IPPS-A) deployment, a transformative human capital modernization effort for 1.1 million soldiers. He crafted and executed comprehensive communication and change management strategies to facilitate the transition to a digital human resource system, leading a cross-functional team to align workforce policies, enhance stakeholder engagement, and drive adoption across the Total Force.

As Acting Deputy Director of Communications at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), he managed communications for 2.4 million federal civil servants, shaped workforce policy messaging, and led crisis management strategies during the national “Opening up America Again” initiative. A U.S. Army veteran, Mr. Cogar served as a Non-Commissioned Officer with two tours in Iraq, earning a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star Medal with “V” device for his leadership and service.

Mr. Cogar holds a B.S. in Political Science from Old Dominion University. He is a certified Change Management Advanced Practitioner (CMAP) through Georgetown University and a Project Management Professional (PMP) through the Project Management Institute.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy

Mr. Jose Conejo

Acting Principal Director for Civilian Personnel Policy

Mr. Jose Conejo is the Acting Principal Director, Civilian Personnel Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness. His responsibilities are to provide the development and oversight of civilian workforce plans, policies and programs that affect the Department's employees worldwide. His portfolio spans the full spectrum of the Human Capital Lifecycle, to include talent acquisition, development, and sustainment, systems evaluation and improvement, performance management, strategic workforce and succession planning, and leader development.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Conejo served as Deputy Director, Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service, Defense Human Resources Activity, Office of the Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness. In this capacity, Mr. Conejo was responsible for providing policy development, program management guidance, and advisory support for Human Resources operational functions and strategic programs for a workforce of more than 900,000 Department of War employees worldwide. Mr. Conejo's portfolio spanned the full spectrum of Human Capital Management, to include workforce planning, talent acquisition and management, development and sustainment, performance management, labor and employee relations, and leader development.

Previously, Mr. Conejo served as the SES Senior Advisor and Assistant Director, Personnel Services Division, Washington Headquarters Services (WHS), Human Resources Directorate (HRD). He led five teams of human resources specialists who administered the full range of consultative and advisory services for Staffing and Recruitment, Classification, Onboarding, Special Employment Programs, and Personnel Actions Processing.

Mr. Conejo's experience includes leading and executing complex and multi-disciplinary programs and projects in diverse Executive and Legislative branch agencies at all organizational levels. He has led and managed national programs, resources, and staff. He has over 20 years of experience as a functional and supervisory human capital professional engaged in all aspects of human capital work in field offices, at division offices, and at headquarters; with agencies ranging in size from 1,000 to 330,000 employees.

Previous positions include Assistant Director, Labor Management & Employee Relations, Washington Headquarters Services (WHS), Human Resources Directorate (HRD). Director of Policy, Director of Employee Relations, Director of Administrative Investigations, and performed the duties of the Ombudsman and Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer, at the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), formerly known as Government Printing Office. Chief, Labor Relations, Employee Relations, and Training with the Department of Labor. Other key assignments include serving as Labor Relations Officer, Employee Relations Officer, and Administrative Investigator with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy; as senior advisor to the Executive Director and Civilian Human Resources Command Inspector with the U.S. Army Contracting Command; serving as Senior Civilian Personnel Advisor for U.S. Army South and transforming it into a numbered Army (6th Army); and serving as Senior Civilian Personnel Advisor on the Headquarters Department of the Army and Assistant for Administration to the Under Secretary of the Navy staffs.

He began his career in the federal service in 2001 as a Department of the Army, Civilian Human Resource Management (CHRM), CP-10 Intern. Mr. Conejo holds a Master's Degree in Management with a minor in Human Resources from Wayland Baptist University. He is a 2006 graduate of the Department of War Executive Leadership Development Program; a 2016 graduate of the Partnership for Public Service Excellence in Government Fellows Program; a 2018 graduate of the Office of Personnel Management Senior Executive Assessment Program; and a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute's Leadership in a Democratic Society. Before serving the Department of War as a civil servant, Mr. Conejo was an active duty Air Force Security Forces Member and served with the 2nd and 24th Security Forces Squadrons.