John Garstka

John Garstka, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Director for Cyber Warfare within the DASD for Platform and Weapon Portfolio Management, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

His current responsibilities include oversight of the development and acquisition of capabilities for cyberspace operations and implementation of DoD’s Strategic Cybersecurity Program, which focuses on cyber hardening the Department’s highest priority missions. As the Director for Cyber Warfare he pioneered the application of Cyber Resiliency assessments to help Combatant Commands understand cyber risks to critical missions and the application of Mission Focused Cyber Hardening to prioritize cyber mitigations.

Mr. Garstka began his career as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. He was commissioned in 1983 after graduating as a Distinguished Graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a BS in Mathematics. He earned a Master of Science degree in Engineering from Stanford University in 1985 and served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force for 10 years and in the U.S. Air Force Reserve for 15 years.

He has an extensive background in systems engineering, mission analysis, cyber risk assessment, and capability development for space, communications, networking, and cyber capabilities. His experience includes material solution analysis for space surveillance systems, communications satellites, unmanned aerial systems communications, airborne networking, cyber ranges, and capabilities for cyber situational awareness. As an operations research analyst he conducted force structure analysis for the Air Force Officer Force and the Air Force Acquisition Workforce.

He has written and spoken extensively on the topics of network-centric warfare, warfighting innovation, and defense transformation.

Mr. Garstka is married to Diane and resides in Springfield, VA and is the proud parent of four children.