Mr. Alan R. Shaffer currently serves as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S). Senate confirmed in January 2019, he is responsible to the Under Secretary of Defense for all matters pertaining to acquisition; contract administration; logistics and material readiness; installations and environment; operational energy; chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons; the acquisition workforce; and the defense industrial base.

From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Shaffer served as the Director, NATO Collaboration Support Office in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. In this role, he was responsible for coordinating and synchronizing the Science and Technology (S&T) collaboration between NATO member and partner Nations, comprising a network of about 5,000 scientists.

Previous to his role at NATO, Mr. Shaffer served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) from 2007-2015. In this position, Mr. Shaffer was responsible for formulating, planning and reviewing the DoD Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) programs, plans, strategy, priorities, and execution of the DoD RDT&E budget that totals roughly $25 billion per year. He has also served twice as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering from 2007-2009 and 2012-2015.

Additionally, in 2009, he was appointed as the first Director, Operational Energy, Plans and Programs (Acting). Mr. Shaffer has also served as the Executive Director for several senior DoD Task Forces, including review of all research, acquisition and test activities during the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure. In 2007, he was the Executive Director for the DoD Energy Security Task Force and, from 2007-2012, he served as the Executive Director of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protection (MRAP) Task Force, where he was responsible for oversight and fielding 27,000 MRAPs.

Before entering the federal government, Mr. Shaffer served a 24-year United States Air Force career in command, weather, intelligence and acquisition oversight with assignments in Utah, California, Ohio, Honduras, Germany, Virginia and Nebraska.

His career included deployment to Honduras in the mid-1980s and direct support of the United States Army 3rd Armored Division in Hanau, Germany. During Operation DESERT STORM, he was responsible for deployment of the 500-person theater weather force. Upon retirement from the Air Force in 2000, Mr. Shaffer was appointed to the Senior Executive Service; in 2001, he assumed the position as Director, Plans and Programs, Defense Research and Engineering.

Mr. Shaffer earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Vermont in 1976, a second Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from the University of Utah, a Master of Science in Meteorology from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He was awarded the Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award in 2004, the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and the Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award in 2007 and 2015.

Mr. Peter Fanta assumed the duties of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Matters in February of 2018.

A member of the Senior Executive Service, his responsibilities include: nuclear enterprise governance; all aspects of nuclear weapons acquisition, modernization, surety, survivability, reliability, security, safety, weapons management, weapon integration, nuclear incident response; and coordination of all activities relating to the nuclear weapons stockpile. Included in these responsibilities are countering nuclear threats and international nuclear agreements.

Mr. Fanta's career includes over 37 years on active duty as a naval officer to include multiple command tours of operational sea and land forces, as well as staff tours on the Navy and Joint Chiefs Staffs. His operational experience has included every world region with the exception of the Antarctic. Senior operational tours have included command of Navy and Marine forces in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Middle East. His senior staff tours have included Director of Warfare Integration, Director of Surface Warfare, and Deputy Director for Resources and Acquisition for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His operational and staff experience has included tours in nuclear weapons operations, security, resourcing, support and sustainment, as well as nuclear enterprise oversight. He retired from the U.S. Naval Service as a Flag Officer.

A native of Manitowoc, Wisconsin he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, earned an M.P.A. from Harvard University as the Moreau Scholar, and a Master of National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College.

His awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medals, Legions of Merit, Meritorious Service Medals, and various other awards and unit commendations.

Vayl S. Oxford, a member of the senior executive service (SES), is the Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).

Mr. Oxford is no stranger to DTRA, having served in several different positions with DTRA and its legacy organizations, first as a U.S. Air Force officer and then as a DoD civilian. Before being named DTRA Director, he was the National Security Executive Policy Advisor at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) where he was responsible for guiding the strategic direction and vision for national security issues. Before joining PNNL, Mr. Oxford spent a short time in private industry after 35 years of public service that combined time in the military and as a government civilian employee, almost all of it focused on countering weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

He served in multiple positions in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from 2003 to 2009, as the Policy Advisor to the Under Secretary of Science & Technology, as Acting Director of the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency, and as the first Director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), which was created to be the single entity in the U.S. government to protect the nation against nuclear terrorism. Appointed by President George W. Bush and reporting to the DHS Secretary, he led the development of the National Strategy to Combat Nuclear Terrorism.

Prior to his appointment to DHS, Mr. Oxford served as the Director for Counterproliferation at the National Security Council (NSC), where he supported the development of the President’s National Strategy to Combat WMD, the policy and strategy for WMD interdiction, and represented the NSC in the development of the National Biodefense Strategy. He chaired the interagency working group for Operation Iraqi Freedom to develop policies for combating WMD in Iraq, to include developing the initial concept for WMD exploitation and elimination, and the plan for foreign consequence management to protect civilian populations from potential Iraqi use of WMD.

From 1987 to 2002, he held several positions with DTRA and its legacy organizations (Defense Special Weapons Agency and Defense Nuclear Agency). Highlights include directing a 300 member staff and a $400M RDT&E program to defeat WMD targets. He also initiated a joint program with SOCOM to develop specialized capabilities to exploit and defeat WMD threats. As Director for Counterproliferation, he led DoD’s counterforce efforts to identify, characterize and defeat WMD facilities, including oversight of two Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations.

Mr. Oxford received his Bachelor of Science in General Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and his Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Mr. Oxford has numerous military and civilian awards, including the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award and the Distinguished Public Service Award for his contributions to Homeland Security.

Dr. Charles J. Ball currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Threat Reduction and Arms Control (DASD/TRAC). In this capacity, he is the principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs (NCB) for: acquisition oversight, implementation, and compliance with nuclear, biological, and chemical treaties; cooperative threat reduction; chemical demilitarization programs; and building global partner capacity to counter weapons of mass destruction (CWMD).

Prior to joining the Department of Defense, Dr. Ball worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for over twenty years.

At the Laboratory, he was the Deputy Program Development Director for Defense, serving in a variety of policy and leadership positions at LLNL. Dr. Ball led major efforts to expand the Laboratory’s role in supporting the DoD counter proliferation, counterterrorism and Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2AD) missions.

He initiated an effort to apply the Laboratory’s conventional weapons expertise to develop very low collateral damage weapons for enhanced effectiveness in counterterrorism operations, as well as tailored munitions for other military contingencies necessitating precision effects. In addition, Dr. Ball applied Laboratory expertise in hypersonics to address critical A2AD challenges.

He was responsible for an innovative program to utilize technologies associated with the nuclear weapons stockpile program for use by conventional forces to close critical capability gaps and enhance US air superiority.

When he served as Deputy Program Manager for the Counter Proliferation Analysis and Planning System (CAPS) program, Dr. Ball focused the program on specialized analysis to support the Special Operations Command CWMD mission.

Dr. Ball received his BA from Duke University and his PhD from the London School of Economics, after which he was a post-doctoral fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

He has served as an intelligence officer in the US Navy Reserve since 1996.

Lieutenant General Darsie Rogers serves as the Deputy Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. He was commissioned a second lieutenant from Auburn University in 1987. Following his initial assignment to the 24th Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia, he completed the Special Forces Qualification Course and was awarded the Green Beret.

General Rogers has commanded Army and Special Operations Forces at every level, from Second Lieutenant to his current rank. Notable assignments include the Joint Staff, the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk and commander of the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). He has participated in numerous contingency and combat operations including Operation DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM, Operation PROVIDE COMFORT, peacekeeping operations in Bosnia, and five deployments in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and Operation NEW DAWN, where he commanded Army, Air Force and Naval special operations forces. He served as the Deputy Commanding General for Support, 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson, the Deputy Commanding General for United States Army Special Operations Command, the Commanding General, 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) Fort Bragg and most recently as Commanding General of Special Operations Command, Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base.

His awards and decoration include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Combat SCUBA Diver Badge, Military Free Fall Parachutist Badge, and the Ranger and Special Forces Tabs.

General Rogers has master’s degrees from Louisiana State University and the Air War College and is a graduate of the Joint and Combined War-fighting Course and the Army Command and General Staff College.