Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs (ASD(NCB))
Mr. Drew Walter is a career member of the Senior Executive Service and currently serves as the Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs (ASD(NCB)). In this capacity, Mr. Walter is the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment on nuclear weapons, nuclear energy, chemical and biological defense programs, chemical demilitarization, and treaty management. In this role, Mr. Walter holds leadership, management, and advisory responsibility for the following offices: Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Chemical and Biological Defense Programs; Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Matters (OASD(NCB/NM)); Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Threat Reduction and Arms Control; and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
Previously, Mr. Walter served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Matters (DASD(NM)). OASD(NCB/NM) is the Department of Defense (DoD) focal point for a wide range of issues related to the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, nuclear counterterrorism, and nuclear counterproliferation. In this role, Mr. Walter was responsible for carrying out OASD(NCB/NM)’s mission “to ensure the continued credibility, safety, security, resiliency, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear deterrent to deter adversaries, assure allies and partners, and achieve U.S. objectives if deterrence fails—today and in the future.”
Before being assigned as DASD(NM), Mr. Walter served as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, where he supported efforts to integrate activities across the Department related to nuclear deterrent modernization and sustainment. In 2018, Mr. Walter joined DoD as Principal Director and Senior Advisor in OASD(NCB/NM).
Prior to joining DoD, Mr. Walter served as a professional staff member with the Committee on Armed Services in the U.S. House of Representatives. In this role, he was responsible for executing committee activities and oversight regarding all policies, programs, and budgets related to nuclear deterrence, nuclear nonproliferation, naval nuclear propulsion, and nuclear environmental cleanup. These responsibilities included oversight and authorization of over $30 billion in annual funding within DoD and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
Mr. Walter began his career at Sandia National Laboratories, where he was a Senior Member of the Technical Staff. His responsibilities at Sandia included conducting physical security assessments for U.S. nuclear weapons, developing and analyzing new security technologies and security assessment methodologies, and conducting special studies for laboratory executives.
Mr. Walter holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering, both from the Rochester Institute of Technology.