Dr. Chris Bassler is Performing the Duties of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy.

He most recently served as Director of Integrated Deterrence at MITRE, where his portfolio specialized in strategic options and effects development from cross-government and public-private approaches, with an emphasis on strategic cyber, strategic economics, economic warfare, and other non-kinetic effects. He was previously a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), and led research on technology & innovation, joint aerospace capabilities, maritime operating concepts, and overall U.S. & allied military strategies. Before that, he served as a civilian in the U.S. Department of Defense, including as an engineer, scientist, designer, and strategist. His previous assignments included Chief Strategy Officer for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office; and assignments at the Pentagon, the Office of Naval Research, and one of the U.S. Navy Warfare Centers. He has worked in various capacities to enhance capabilities and interoperability across all missions and warfighting domains, including with allies & partners on five different continents, in the Arctic, and as a U.S. delegate to NATO.

Dr. Bassler received two Department of Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, from the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Research. He has been awarded two U.S. patents for his inventions. He has authored more than two dozen reports on strategies, operational concepts, and capability development. He has published in various outlets, including: DefenseNews, Defense One, Breaking Defense, War on the Rocks, Space News, The Hill, RealClearDefense, and the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC).

His degrees include a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech; a M.A. in Security Policy Studies and Graduate Certificate in Asian Studies from the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs; a Graduate Certificate in Systems Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School; and a Diploma in Strategy & Innovation from the University of Oxford, Saïd Business School.