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{{short description|Retired American naval officer and Department of Defense official}}
{{other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}

{{BLP sources|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = John Poindexter
| image               = Admiral John Poindexter, official Navy photo, 1985.JPEG
| office              = 13th [[National Security Advisor (United States)|United States National Security Advisor]]
| president           = [[Ronald Reagan]]
| term_start          = December 4, 1985
| term_end            = November 25, 1986
| predecessor         = [[Robert McFarlane (American politician)|Robert McFarlane]]
| successor           = [[Frank Carlucci]]
| order1              = 13th
| office1             = United States Deputy National Security Advisor
| president1          = Ronald Reagan
| term_start1         = October 17, 1983
| term_end1           = December 4, 1985
| predecessor1        = [[Robert McFarlane (American politician)|Robert McFarlane]]
| successor1          = [[Donald Fortier]]
| birth_name          = John Marlan Poindexter
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1936|8|12}}
| birth_place         = [[Odon, Indiana]], U.S.
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| spouse              = Linda Poindexter
| children            = 5, including [[Alan G. Poindexter|Dex]]
| education           = {{nowrap|[[United States Naval Academy]]}} ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br/>[[California Institute of Technology]] ([[Master of Science|MS]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])
| allegiance          = {{flag|United States}}
| branch              = {{flag|United States Navy}}
| serviceyears        = 1958–1987
| rank                = [[Vice admiral (United States)|Vice Admiral]]<br/>Retired as a [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]]
| commands            = {{USS|England|DLG-22|6}}<br/>Destroyer Squadron 31
| mawards             = [[Legion of Merit]] (2)<br/>[[Presidential Service Badge]]
}}
'''John Marlan Poindexter''' (born August 12, 1936) is a retired United States naval officer and [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] official. He was [[Deputy National Security Advisor]] and [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]] during the [[Reagan administration]]. He was convicted in April 1990 of multiple felonies as a result of his actions in the [[Iran–Contra affair]], but his convictions were reversed on appeal in 1991. During the [[George W. Bush administration]], he served a brief stint as the director of the [[DARPA]] [[Information Awareness Office]]. He is the father of NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy Captain [[Alan G. Poindexter]].

==Early life and career==
Poindexter was born in [[Odon, Indiana]], the son of Marlan G. and Ellen (Sommers) Poindexter.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2005/04/17/poindexter-ellen-sommers/ |title=Poindexter, Ellen Sommers - Baltimore Sun |publisher=Articles.baltimoresun.com |date=April 17, 2005 |access-date=February 1, 2013 |archive-date=September 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928091115/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2005-04-17/news/0504170234_1_poindexter-moving-to-maryland-grandchildren |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{fv|date=August 2025|reason=This says that Ellen was buried in Odon, but not that John was born there.}} He received his undergraduate degree from the [[United States Naval Academy]] in 1958, where he graduated first in a class of 899.<ref name=ReaganLibrary>{{cite web
|access-date=February 28, 2009
|url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1985/120485e.htm
|title=Appointment of John M. Poindexter as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
|date=December 4, 1985
|publisher=Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
|archive-date=May 24, 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524123427/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1985/120485e.htm
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> His fellow graduates included astronaut [[Bruce McCandless II]] (who graduated second) and Senator [[John McCain]]; previous National Security Advisor [[Robert McFarlane (American politician)|Robert McFarlane]] was a contemporary, graduating the following year.

Poindexter received an MS (1961) and PhD (1964) in [[nuclear physics]] from the [[California Institute of Technology]]. For his dissertation, he conducted laboratory research to further develop a model for understanding the [[Mössbauer effect]] with [[Nobel Laureate]] [[Rudolf Mössbauer]].<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Poindexter |first1=John Marlan |title=PhD Thesis: Electronic shielding by closed shells in thulium compounds |url=https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-10302002-081451 |website=CalTech |publisher=California Institute of Technology |access-date=17 November 2022 |language=en |date=1964|doi=10.7907/8KMG-FY60 |type=phd }}</ref>

==Senior naval career==
While commander of Destroyer Squadron 31, Poindexter was [[surface warfare]] and [[anti-submarine warfare]] commander of battle groups in the Western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean, and he developed new tactics and battle management procedures under the Composite Warfare Commander concept. As the commanding officer of {{USS|England|DLG-22|6}}, he pioneered the shipboard use of computers to manage the ship's force portion of yard overhauls. He was also an executive officer and a chief engineer of destroyers.

As deputy commander of the [[Naval Education and Training Command]], he led the United States Navy's extensive education and training programs. He launched the development of a distributed [[data management]] system to better manage training pipelines.

His staff assignments included: executive assistant to the [[Chief of Naval Operations]], administrative assistant to the [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] and special assistant for Systems Analysis to the [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]]. He reached the rank of [[Vice Admiral (United States)|vice admiral]] while serving as National Security Advisor, but was reverted to the rank of [[Rear Admiral (United States)|rear admiral]] in 1986 for his role in the [[Iran–Contra affair]]. He retired at that rank in 1987.<ref>{{Cite web|last=L.A. Time Archives|date=March 3, 1987|title=Poindexter Opts for Demotion, to Stay in Navy |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-03-mn-7536-story.html|access-date=November 2, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Chang |first=Kenneth |url=https://www.nytimes.com/keyword/vice-admiral |title=New York Times |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 1, 2013}}</ref>

==U.S. executive branch service==
Poindexter served in the [[Reagan administration]] as military assistant to the National Security Advisor from 1981 to 1983. From 1983 to 1985, he served as [[Deputy National Security Advisor]], leading the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]]'s Crisis Pre-planning Group. From 1985 to 1986, he was National Security Advisor,<ref name="ReaganLibrary"/> providing recommendations to the President on national security, foreign policy and defense policy.<ref name="politico">{{cite web |last1=Glass |first1=Andrew |title=John Poindexter is indicted, March 16, 1988 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2012/03/this-day-in-politics-074074 |website=POLITICO |access-date=17 November 2022 |language=en |date=16 March 2012}}</ref>

He played a significant role in the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]], [[Invasion of Grenada|Operation Urgent Fury]], the [[MS Achille Lauro|Achille Lauro]] [[Achille Lauro hijacking|hijacking incident]], [[Operation El Dorado Canyon]] (in response to Libyan terrorist attacks), and the [[Reykjavík Summit]] with the [[Soviet Union|Soviets]].

===Iran–Contra affair===
{{main|Iran–Contra affair}}
In the [[Iran–Contra affair]], Poindexter and Oliver North sent aid to the [[Contras]] and money and weapons to Iran to secure the release of American hostages from Lebanon. This violated the [[Boland Amendment]], which forbade the United States from directly or indirectly being involved with the Contras.<ref>{{cite book|title=Out of Many|year=2000|publisher=Prentice Hall|isbn=0-13-949760-9|pages=956, 957|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/outofmanyhistory00john}}</ref> Evidence revealed that Poindexter was a leader in the organization of the transfer of the weapons to Iran and oversaw other people involved in the affair, such as [[Oliver North]].

Poindexter and North communicated through a channel known as the "Private Blank Check" which Poindexter set up on a National Security Council (NSC) computer. Through this system, Poindexter and North were able to send messages called [[PROFS]] notes<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/17/world/poindexter-charged-with-deleting-files.html|title=Poindexter Charged With Deleting Files|first=Stephen Engelberg and Special To the New York|last=Times|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 17, 1988}}</ref> back and forth without being intercepted by other NSC staff members. This system was not successful. Even though both Poindexter and North attempted to delete the messages, the White House Communications Agency was able to recover some of them, later used in trying Poindexter and North in court. On November 25, 1986, after the public disclosure of the Iran–Contra affair, Poindexter was forced to resign from his position as National Security Advisor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chapter 3: United States v. John M. Poindexter |url=https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_03.htm|publisher=Federation of American Scientists}}</ref>

Poindexter was convicted on April 7, 1990, of five counts of lying to Congress and obstructing the [[Congressional committees investigating the Iran–Contra affair]], which were investigating the Reagan Administration's covert arms sales to Iran and the diversion of proceeds to insurgents fighting to overthrow the [[Sandinista]] government in Nicaragua. The convictions were reversed in 1991 on appeal on the grounds that several witnesses against him had been influenced by his testimony before Congress, even though Congress had given him immunity for that testimony.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=United States v. Poindexter |vol=951 |reporter=F.2d |opinion=369 |court=[[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|D.C. Cir.]] |date=November 15, 1991 |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3415688127241263298&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr |access-date=January 29, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Johnson |first=David|title=Poindexter Wins Iran-Contra Case in Appeals Court|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/06/29/reviews/iran-poindexter.html|access-date=July 26, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 16, 1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Linda Greenhouse |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/08/us/supreme-court-roundup-iran-contra-appeal-refused-by-court.html |title=Supreme Court Roundup; Iran-Contra Appeal Refused by Court |work=New York Times |date=December 8, 1992 |access-date=February 1, 2013}}</ref>

To protest his involvement in the Iran-Contra Affair, [[Bill Breeden (Minister)|Bill Breeden]], a local minister and political activist, stole a street sign bearing Poindexter's name in his home town of Odon, Indiana. The sign was eventually returned but not before making national headlines and resulting in Breeden's arrest.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Andrew Glass|title=Grand jury indicts former White House aides, March 16, 1988|url=http://politi.co/2FVXB6G|access-date=August 5, 2021|website=POLITICO|date=March 16, 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Vest|first=Jason|date=December 1, 1991|title=AMERICA AT A CROSSROADS|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/12/01/america-at-a-crossroads/b3b5518f-9857-4cbc-a5b2-f56f92187602/|access-date=August 5, 2021|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

==Defense contractor work==
From 1988 to 1989, Poindexter was senior scientist at Presearch, Inc., which had primarily been involved with defense studies and analysis. Faced with anticipated defense budget reductions, Poindexter joined the firm to develop new commercial enterprises. He designed and developed hardware and software for the prototype of a digital real-time imaging system to be used for physical security of high-value facilities. It was used to obtain a contract for a nuclear power plant security system.

From 1990 to 1996, Poindexter was the chief designer and programmer for TP Systems, Inc., a software development firm that he co-founded to specialize in commercial software for the [[IBM]] [[personal computer|PCs]] and compatibles. Development included a [[symbolic debugger]] for [[Computer multitasking|multi-tasking environments]], a [[Bulletin board system|BBS]] communications program, and numerous utility programs.

From 1993 to 1996, Poindexter served as a consultant to Elkins Group, a business alliance with [[Electronic Data Systems]] (EDS), that developed the Elkins Interactive Training Network (EITN), a satellite-based training delivery system. Poindexter was the chairman of the Maritime Advisory Committee and a member of Elkins' board of directors. He also provided advice on strategic planning.

From 1996 to 2002, Poindexter served as senior vice president for SYNTEK Technologies, a small high-technology firm with contracts in domestic and international defense and commercial business. Poindexter gave high-level advice on management and directed information systems projects (for example, [[Defense Advanced Research Project Agency]]'s [[Project Genoa]]).

In 2000, he joined the board of [[Saffron Technology]], where he played a role building a tool to run entity analysis on Iraqi insurgent networks that planted [[Improvised explosive device|IEDs]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Harris|first=Shane|title=The Watchers: The Rise of America's Surveillance State|publisher=Penguin Group|year=2011|isbn=978-1-101-19532-1|location=London|page=281}}</ref>

In 2007, he joined the board of Bright Planet Corporation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brightplanet.com/about-us/board-of-directors |title=Board of Directors |publisher=Brightplanet.com |access-date=February 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202105855/http://www.brightplanet.com/about-us/board-of-directors/ |archive-date=February 2, 2013 }}</ref>

After 2007, Poindexter worked to promote fraud-detecting [[Associative Memory Base]] technology to civilian government agencies such as the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Harris|first=Shane|title=The Watchers: The Rise of America's Surveillance State|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Group|location=London|isbn=978-1-101-19532-1|page=321}}</ref>

==Recall to public service==
Late in 2001, upon the recommendation of [[Science Applications International Corporation]] executive Brian Hicks, then-Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] recommended Admiral Poindexter to head a separate anti-terrorist office and serve under US Secretary of Defense [[Donald Rumsfeld]].

===Information Awareness Office===
{{main|Information Awareness Office}}

From January 2002 to August 2003, Poindexter served as the Director of the [[DARPA]] [[Information Awareness Office]] (IAO).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sutherland |first1=John |title=No more Mr Scrupulous Guy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/Archive/Article/0,4273,4358017,00.html |website=The Guardian |access-date=17 November 2022 |location=UK |language=en |date=18 February 2002}}</ref> The mission of the IAO was to imagine, develop, apply, integrate, demonstrate and move information technologies, components, and prototype [[Control theory|closed-loop information systems]]. This aimed to counter asymmetric threats (most notably, terrorist threats) by achieving [[Information Awareness Office|total information awareness]] and thus aiding preemption, national security warning, and national security decision making.<ref name="SS1" /><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Hertzberg |first1=Hendrik |title=Too Much Information |url=https://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/?021209ta_talk_hertzberg |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=17 November 2022 |date=9 December 2002 |archive-date=July 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731020648/http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/?021209ta_talk_hertzberg |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Policy Analysis Market===
Poindexter faced criticism from the media and some politicians about the [[Policy Analysis Market]] project, a theoretical [[prediction market]] that would have rewarded participants for accurately predicting geopolitical trends in the Middle East and elsewhere. This was portrayed in the media as allowing participants to profit from the assassination of heads of state and acts of [[terrorism]] due to such events being mentioned on illustrative sample screens showing the interface.<ref name="SS1">{{cite web| last=Lundin|first=Leigh |title=Pam, Prism, and Poindexter| url=http://www.sleuthsayers.org/2013/07/pam-prism-and-poindexter.html |work=Spying| publisher=SleuthSayers |access-date=January 4, 2014| date=July 7, 2013 |location=Washington}}</ref> The controversy over the proposed futures market led to a Congressional audit of the IAO in general.  Funding for the IAO was subsequently cut and Poindexter retired from DARPA on August 12, 2003.<ref name="reagan">{{cite web |title=Poindexter, John M |url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/archives/textual/smof/poindext.pdf |website=www.reaganlibrary.gov |publisher=Reagan Library |access-date=17 November 2022 |archive-date=November 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117130214/https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/archives/textual/smof/poindext.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Poindexter's resignation letter to DARPA Direct Anthony Tether |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/transcripts/poindexterletter.pdf |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=17 November 2022 |date=12 August 2003}}</ref>

==Family==
His wife, Linda Poindexter, was an [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal]] priest for 13 years, but retired from the clergy when she converted to [[Catholicism]].<ref name="reagan" /><ref>{{cite news|last1=Zenit Staff|title=Woman Episcopalian Priest Converts to Catholicism: Linda Poindexter Defends All-Male, Celibate Clergy|url=https://zenit.org/articles/woman-episcopalian-priest-converts-to-catholicism/|access-date=February 24, 2016|agency=Zenit|date=August 30, 2001}}</ref> They have five sons, including the late [[Alan G. Poindexter]], a [[NASA]] astronaut, [[Space Shuttle]] pilot on the [[STS-122]] mission to the [[International Space Station]], and the commander of [[STS-131]], Mark Alan (* 1963), Joseph Chester (* 1971) and Daniel John.<ref>[https://www.munzinger.de/search/document?index=mol-00&id=00000017794&type=text/html&query.key=OXtyVPZs&template=/publikationen/personen/document.jsp&preview= John M. Poindexter], Munzinger Personen - Internationales Biographisches Archiv</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

===Biographical links===
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040802231714/http://www.govexec.com/features/0704-15/0704-15s3.htm "Lightning Rod"] in ''[[Government Executive]]''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080202080702/http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YmFlMzdlNDQ2OTk4NWE0MDI4NTljZmQxNTQ0NWMxN2Y= corner.nationalreview.com]
*{{C-SPAN|10297}}

===Iran–Contra affair===
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050601082031/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/18/archive/ CNN.com]&nbsp;– 'Iran-Contra: White House e-mail'
*[https://fas.org/irp/congress/1992_cr/s920630-iran-contra.htm FAS.org]&nbsp;– Report of Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh, ''US Congressional Record'' (June 30, 1992)

===Total Information Awareness===
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20021209180434/http://www.politechbot.com/p-04186.html PoliTechBot.com]&nbsp;– 'Transcript of Pentagon briefing on Poindexter's "TIA" program' (November 24, 2002)

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{{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[Robert McFarlane (American politician)|Bud McFarlane]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]]|years=1985–1986}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Poindexter, John}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:American nuclear physicists]]
[[Category:California Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Indiana Republicans]]
[[Category:Iran–Contra affair]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Daviess County, Indiana]]
[[Category:Reagan administration personnel]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Indiana]]
[[Category:United States national security advisors]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:United States Navy rear admirals (upper half)]]
[[Category:American conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:American people convicted of making false statements]]