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Karen L. Spidell

Chief of Staff

Department of the Army

Criminal Investigation Division

Special Agent Karen Spidell became the Chief of Staff for the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID), in March 2024. She leads the staff for the Department of the Army’s independent criminal investigative agency, consisting of nearly 3,000 personnel assigned to 124 world-wide locations, responsible for felony criminal investigations and operations; war crimes and terrorism investigations; criminal intelligence collection and analysis; cybercrime investigations and operations; multi-dimensional forensics support; and, protective service operations for the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Department of the Army senior leaders.
 
Prior to assuming her role as the Chief of Staff, Special Agent Spidell served as the Army CID Chief Strategy Officer where she developed, communicated, and executed various special projects and programs assigned by the Director, Deputy Director, and Chief of Staff that align with the transformation, direction, and mission of CID.
 
Prior to coming to CID, Special Agent Spidell served as the Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations (DAIGI) for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). Prior to her DCIS career, she served in the U.S. Air Force, separating after 15 years as an enlisted special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
 
Special Agent Spidell has held a wide array of spaces over her approximately 40 years of law enforcement experience, to include criminal investigative, counterintelligence, and national security operations.