Elmer L. Roman serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for Mission Integration under the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Mission Capabilities in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)). He is responsible for leading mission engineering support to the OUSD(R&E), the Joint Staff, Combatant Commands, and Services to develop mission-focused, threat-informed analyses to help identify and evaluate current and emerging systems, systems-of-systems, technologies, and capabilities within priority operational scenarios to improve mission outcomes, close capability gaps, and shape the design of joint experimentation. As DASD, he also assesses joint mission architectures and executes modeling and simulation analysis to provide quantitative, data-driven results to inform Department of Defense-wide investment decisions on technologies, prototyping, experimentation, and testing.

Prior to assuming his current duties, Mr. Roman served as Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and Secretary of Public Safety, as confirmed by the state legislature, of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. He was the Constitutional successor of the Chief Executive in his or her absence and served as Interim Governor in multiple occasions during his tenure. He was also the Homeland Security Advisor to the Governor of Puerto Rico. Mr. Roman ran for Congress for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico under the New Progressive Party.

Mr. Roman is a Senior Executive Service Tier 2 and holds the rank of Captain (O-6) in the U.S. Navy Reserve, for which he serves as the Diving, Salvage, and Heavy Lift Mentor Group Lead following three successful tours as a commanding officer. Mr. Roman also served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1991––1997 in reconnaissance and landing support and transitioned to the Navy Reserve as an Engineering Duty Officer leading heavy lift salvage support missions worldwide, including the heavy lift operations for the destroyers USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) and USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), after collisions in 2017. Mr. Roman also served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009.

Mr. Roman's additional DoD experience includes serving as Director of the Joint Capability Technology Demonstration Program within OUSD(R&E), for which he directed the planning and transition of new capabilities to the Joint Force and National Security Agencies. He served as Oversight Executive for International Cooperation and Asymmetric Warfare programs, implementing DoD efforts in security cooperation, humanitarian assistance, and disaster management, as well as fighting transnational organized crime, and capacity building for allied countries. From 2005––2010, Mr. Roman served in a diplomatic assignment as Regional Director of the Office of Naval Research Global at the United States Embassy in Santiago, Chile. He received a U.S. Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medal for his work in supporting Counterterrorism efforts following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

His awards include the U.S. Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medals (two awards), U.S. Navy Meritorious Service Medals (two awards), and the Chilean Armed Forces Military Star for his work during response to a category 8.8 earthquake in 2010. He is a recipient of the U.S. Navy League's Rear Admiral William S. Parsons Award for Scientific and Technical Progress, the General Carl A. Spaatz Award, the STEM Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Luminary Award, the Department of State Meritorious Honor Award, and a NASA Technical Achievement Commendation.

Mr. Roman holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, and a Master of Science in systems engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He graduated from the USMC Recruit Depot in Parris Island, the USMC Officer Candidates School, the U.S. Navy Senior Engineering Duty Officer School, and the Federal Executive Institute of the Office of Personnel Management.