Mr. Gary A. Ashworth is the Acting Secretary of the Air Force. In this role, he is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping the U.S. Air Force and Space Force. As the department’s senior leader, he oversees an annual budget exceeding $200 billion, provides air and space forces to combatant commanders in support of global military operations, and is accountable for the welfare of nearly 700,000 active duty, Guard, Reserve, and civilian Airmen and Guardians and their families.
Mr. Ashworth, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, recently served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition. In that position, he advised the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Defense on matters relating to the Department of Defense Acquisition System, acquisition program management, and the development of strategic, space, intelligence, tactical warfare, command and control, and business systems.
Mr. Ashworth has been involved in all phases of DoD acquisition, sustainment, research, development, and engineering since joining the defense acquisition workforce in 1992. His prior Office of the Secretary of Defense duties include Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, and the DASD for Strategic, Space, and Intelligence Portfolio Management. Additionally, he served as the Director, Space and Missile Defense and the Nuclear Weapons Systems Acquisition Lead for the OUSD(A&S). He also served as a Major Defense Acquisition Program Support Team Lead for OUSD (Research and Engineering) where he provided systems engineering support to and led independent technical risk assessments on more than sixty major defense acquisition and information system programs in the nuclear weapon system; nuclear command, control and communications; and command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) domains.
Mr. Ashworth served the Air Force in uniform for more than 20 years, retiring in 2009 as a lieutenant colonel. His final assignment was serving as a Squadron Commander of an acquisition squadron and Program Manager for several C4ISR programs. His operational assignments include serving as a Nuclear War Plan Advisor and Command and Control Exercise Planner for U.S. Strategic Command as well as a Missile Combat Crew Commander for the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile weapon system.
EDUCATION
1987 Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.
1994 Master of Science, Electrical Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, S.D.
2002 Joint and Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2003 Master of Military Operational Art and Science, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2012 National Security Leader Seminar, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
2018 Leadership for a Democratic Society, Federal Executive Institute, Charlottesville, Va.
2020 Master of Science, Cyber Security, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. August 1988–December 1992, Missile Combat Crew Flight Commander, 66th Missile Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.
2. December 1992–December 1995, Chief, Airborne Reconnaissance Signals Analysis Branch, National Air Intelligence Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
3. December 1995–December 1999, Chief, Combat Identification Branch, Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, Mass.
4. December 1999–July 2002, Chief, Joint Exercise Section, J3/4, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb.
5. July 2002–June 2003, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
6. June 2003–July 2005, Program Element Monitor, Tactical Communications, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition), the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
7. August 2005–July 2006, Chief, Acquisition Programs, Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff Executive Action Group, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
8. July 2006–March 2009, Commander, 644th Electronic Systems Squadron, Air Force Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, Mass.
9. August 2009–April 2010, Director, Air Force Programs, Intelligent Decisions, Ashburn, Va.
10. April 2010–February 2011, Deputy Program Executive Officer, Enterprise Finance, Business Transformational Agency, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
11. February 2011–April 2019, Program Support Team Lead, Major Defense Acquisition Program Support Team, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense (Research and Engineering), the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
12. April 2019–April 2020, Nuclear Weapon Systems Acquisition Lead, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment), the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
13. May 2020–January 2022, Director, Space and Missile Defense, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment), the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
14. January 2022–August 2023, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Strategic, Space, and Intelligence Portfolio Management, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment), the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
15. August 2023–January 2025, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense (Acquisition), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment), the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
16. January 2025–present, Acting Secretary of the Air Force, Department of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
AWARDS AND HONORS
Distinguished Civilian Service Award
Office of Secretary of Defense Group Achievement Award
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Force Commendation Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air and Space Force Achievement Medal
PUBLICATIONS
“New Approach Required for an Old Problem: Rethinking Combat Identification,” Joint Center for Lessons Learned Quarterly Bulletin, June 2002
(Current as of January 2025)