Patrick Marshall Hughes

1942 - 2024

Lieutenant General Patrick M. Hughes, a highly decorated military intelligence leader and former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, passed away on October 5, from leiomyosarcoma. He was 82.

Born September 19, 1942, in Great Falls, Montana, Hughes grew up in Manhattan, Montana, and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1962. He attended Montana State College before beginning his military service, where he later returned to complete his degree while participating in Army ROTC. He served as a medic before earning his commission as an officer in 1968. Hughes saw combat in Vietnam with the 9th Infantry Division and later transitioned to military intelligence, embarking on a distinguished career that spanned more than three decades.

Hughes held key leadership roles, including Director of Intelligence at U.S. Central Command, Director of Intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the 12th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 1996 to 1999. His service took him across the globe, from Vietnam and the Middle East to Africa and the Balkans, where he played pivotal roles in major military and intelligence operations, including Operation Desert Storm and peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia, Somalia, and Haiti.

Following his retirement from the Army in 1999, Hughes continued his work in the intelligence community, joining the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 as Assistant Secretary for Information Analysis. He left government service in 2005 but remained an influential figure in national security, consulting and mentoring until his full retirement in 2018.

He never forgot his service in Vietnam and the men and women he served with in other wartime locations and was a frequent participant in wreath laying and remembrance at the Vietnam War Memorial.

His decorations include three awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, three awards of the Legion of Merit, three awards of the Bronze Star for valor, two awards of the Bronze Star for meritorious service, the Purple Heart, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, five awards of the Army Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal for combat air mobile operations, the Army Commendation Medal for valor, the Good Conduct Medal, the Parachute Badge and the Combat Infantry Badge. He is also the recipient of the National Intelligence Distinguished Service medal, the CIA Director's Award, and the CIA Seal Medallion. He received several awards and recognition from allied nations and professional organizations. He is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame and the US Army ROTC Hall of Fame. He was also the recipient of the MI Corps Knowlton Award and the Blue & Gold Award from Montana State University.

Lieutenant General Hughes was a member and board participant of the Defense Intel Agency Association, the OSS Society, the National Military Intelligence Association and its successor organization the National Military Intelligence Foundation, and the Security Affairs Support Association now known as the Intelligence and National Security Alliance. He was a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, the Mobile Riverine Force Association, and the American Legion. He was a Life member of the Military Officers Association of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, the Association of the United States Army, and the Vietnam Veterans of America.

Hughes is survived by his wife of 62 years, Karlene, his sons Barry and Chad, and a large extended family. He will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery, with a celebration of his life to follow.