Opinion | America's silent guardians

Outside the National Security Agency campus in Fort Meade, Maryland, in 2013. (Patrick Semansky/AP) Wendy Noble is a former deputy director of the National Security Agency. Twelve months have passed since I was released on April 4, 2025, as the 20th deputy director of the National Security Agency. I believe that the president always has the right to choose his team -- that is not a political statement, it is a constitutional one. Executive authority over the national security apparatus is real, and proper. Over the past year, as I reflected on my nearly 40 years at the agency, my overwhelming feeling has been a sense of gratitude for having worked with the countless professionals who play a vital role in safeguarding Americans.