Pete Verga
Senior Advisor
Mr. Pete Verga joined The Cohen Group as a Senior Advisor in 2023. A career Senior Executive Service member, Mr. Verga served as trusted advisor to ten Secretaries of Defense and was among the most senior civil servants in the Department of Defense with 54 years in civilian and uniformed Army service. His final post was Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security and was the principal advisor for all Special Access programs and activities.
From 2008 until his retirement from the Defense Department, he was Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense for Compartmented Activities and earlier oversaw clandestine military operations and Continuity of Government programs. As Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, he oversaw technology security matters and successfully negotiated the return of a US EP-3 Aircraft that made a forced landing in China. He was Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary Jim Mattis, the Defense Adviser to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Security.
Mr. Verga is a retired US Army officer with over twenty-six years of service, including combat operations in Vietnam from 1969 to 1971. He is a member of the US Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame. Prior to retirement from Army active duty, he served on the operations staff of the military Joint Chiefs and led the White House Emergency Operations Office. In these roles, he covered a broad range of matters including continuity of government and sensitive emergency plans and programs in direct support of the President.
Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Mr. Verga holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from the University of La Verne, California, and a Master of Science degree in Public Administration from Troy State University, Alabama. He is a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College. Mr. Verga has been a guest lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School and the Army War College. In addition to his work at the Cohen Group, Mr. Verga is a consultant to the Defense Science Board and the Secretary of the Air Force.
Mr. Verga is the recipient of numerous civilian and military awards. His civilian awards include the Presidential Ranks of Distinguished Executive (2x) and Meritorious Executive, Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Awards (4x) and the Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award. His military service awards include, among others, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star medals (4x), the Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medals (3x), Air Medals (21x), and the Presidential Service Badge.
He is married to the former Elizabeth Anne McAneny, they currently reside in Alexandria, Virginia.