Chris C. Miller
Liteye Systems Advisory Board Member
Chris C. Miller recently served as the Acting Secretary of Defense of the United States. From November 9, 2020, to January 20, 2021, he oversaw the military’s $720 billion budget and successfully led its two million service members and 700k civilian employees through one of the most tumultuous periods in American history.
Mr. Miller is one of his generation’s most seasoned national security professionals. He possesses extensive cross-cultural and multigenerational experience operating from the ground level with foreign governments and leading U.S. and allied military and security forces, to the highest corridors of power domestically and internationally. He has extensive Intelligence Community experience as well.
Prior to his appointment as Acting Secretary of Defense, the Senate unanimously confirmed Mr. Miller on August 6, 2020, as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center where he was responsible for defending the United States from terrorist attacks.
Mr. Miller became a political appointee in January 2020 to lead the Department of Defense’s (DoD) counterterrorism (CT) and irregular warfare efforts. He also served temporarily as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations. His tasks were defeating Al Qaida, recovering American hostages, and transforming the DoD to compete against rising powers through irregular and non-traditional means.
From March 2018 through December 2019 Mr. Miller served as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism and Transnational Threats at the White House’s National Security Council. As the government’s senior most policy-making official in those fields, he developed and implemented strategy and policy and provided counsel to the National Security Advisor, Vice-President, and President.
Mr. Miller enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1983. In 1987 he became an Army officer through R.O.T.C and served 27 years in the Infantry and Special Forces (Green Berets). As a Green Beret, he planned and participated in the invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, in addition to numerous other deployments worldwide. After retiring from the Army in 2014, he provided advice to senior government officials as a contractor and civil servant and drove change in the fields of Special Operations, Political Warfare, and Intelligence.
Raised in Iowa City, Iowa, he received a Bachelor of Arts in History from George Washington University. He earned a Master of Arts degree in National Security Studies from the Naval War College and is a graduate of the Army War College.
With over 30 years of proven success leading and managing teams and organizations in the most complex, dynamic, demanding, and sensitive environments, Mr. Miller remains committed to transforming antiquated thinking and processes to ensure a strong national defense and secure Republic and advocating for our Service People, Veterans, and their families.
