Mr. Drew Walter

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Mr. Drew Walter is the Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Nuclear Deterrence, Chemical, and Biological Defense Policy and Programs (ND-CBD). In this capacity, Mr. Walter supports the Assistant Secretary’s statutory role as principal civilian advisor to the Secretary and other senior leaders on nuclear deterrence policies, operations, and associated programs as well as all matters relating to defense against chemical, biological, and other weapons of mass destruction. Overall, Mr. Walter supports the Assistant Secretary in achieving ND-CBD’s mission to “lead Department of War policy, programs, and activities for nuclear deterrence and to counter, reduce, and defend against nuclear, chemical, biological, radiological, and related threats to safeguard the Nation and protect our warfighters.”

Previously, Mr. Walter served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Nuclear Matters (DASW(NM)). In this role, he was responsible for carrying out the Office of Nuclear Matters 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 DASW(NM), Mr. Walter served as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, where he supported efforts to integrate activities across the Department of War related to nuclear deterrent modernization and sustainment. Mr. Walter joined the Department in 2018 as Principal Director and Senior Advisor in the Office of Nuclear Matters.

Prior to joining the Department, 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.

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 a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology.