Nate Freier has nearly four decades of experience in national security, defense, and military affairs.  Nate is a national security founder, an innovative defense strategic leader and advisor, an enterprise-level strategist, a net and risk assessment professional, and a career soldier.  He is currently a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a non-resident senior research associate at the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM), and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota’s Technological Leadership Institute.

Nate returned to national security research and analysis in September 2024 after serving as the founder and inaugural director of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Campaign Decision Support Team (CDST) from May 2023 to August 2024.  As CDST Director, Nate and his team were responsible for providing the DoD’s most senior leadership with guidance- and decision-ready assessments and insights on the enterprise’s performance in great power rivalry.  

Immediately prior to serving as CDST Director, Nate was a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Defense (DSD) from January 2022 to May 2023.  In that capacity, he was the DSD’s resident expert on enterprise-level campaigning in great power rivalry and military concept development. Nate came to the DSD’s office from the United States Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) where he was an Associate Professor (research) of National Security Studies. At SSI, Nate led four major study efforts for DoD sponsors on gray zone threats, defense strategy risk, great power rivalry, and Indo-Pacific posture.  Prior to service with SSI, Nate was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a Visiting Research Professor at the Army war College’s Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI).   Notable study efforts at CSIS and PKSOI included research on the post-9/11 strategic and operating environment, strategic risk and shock, and the future role of U.S. ground forces, 

Nate began his career as a civilian defense and national security professional after completing a 20-year military career as an Army field artillery officer and strategist. As a junior officer in Europe, Nate witnessed German reunification at the end of the Cold War.  He led a multiple launch rocket system platoon in the Persian Gulf War. He was a staff officer and howitzer battery commander at Fort Lewis, Washington. And, in his final artillery assignment, he served as a U.S. exchange officer with the British Army’s North Yorkshire-based Brigade and Battle Group Trainer-North. 

As an Army strategist, Nate was instrumental in high profile strategy development and strategic planning efforts at Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Department of the Army, Multi-National Force—Iraq, and Multi-National Corps—Iraq. These efforts included Army planning for the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review, post-9/11 plans for the for the War on Terror, the 2005 National Defense Strategy, and counterinsurgency and pol-mil planning in Iraq. 

As an analyst and researcher, Nate is widely published, and he has been a trusted source of strategic advice for the defense and national security community for many years. Of late, Nate specializes in helping enterprise-level leaders adapt to change in the strategic environment, set and implement strategic vision, identify and exploit opportunity, mitigate risk, and master a dynamic intent-design-action-outcome-assessment-adaptation cycle to succeed in contemporary competition and rivalry.  
Nate received his bachelor’s degree in government from Saint John’s University (MN) where he was also commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. He also holds master’s degrees in international relations and world politics from Troy State University and Catholic University respectively.  

Nate has been formally recognized for superior service as a soldier and civilian numerous times throughout his career. Nate’s military awards include the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal. His civilian awards include the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Department of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, and three Commander’s Awards for Civilian Service.