Nate Freier is a nonresident senior fellow with the GeoStrategy Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. He most recently served as the founder and inaugural director of the Department of Defense’s Campaign Decision Support Team from May 2023 to August 2024. As director, Freier and his team were responsible for providing the Department of Defense’s most senior leadership with guidance and decision-ready assessments and insights on the enterprise’s performance in great power rivalry.

Prior to this role, he served as senior advisor to the deputy secretary of defense from January 2022 to May 2023. In that capacity, he was the resident expert on enterprise-level campaigning against strategic rivals and military concept development. He came to the deputy secretary of defense’s office from the United States Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute, where he was an associate professor (research) of National Security Studies. Prior to that, he was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a visiting research professor at the US Army’s Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute.

Freier began his career as a civilian defense and national security professional after completing a twenty-year military career as an Army field artillery officer and strategist. While in uniform, Freier witnessed German reunification and the end of the Cold War firsthand as a junior artillery officer in Europe. He led a multiple launch rocket system platoon in the famous VII Corps “left hook” during the Gulf War. And, as an Army strategist, he was instrumental in numerous high-profile strategy development and strategic planning efforts at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Department of the Army, Multi-National Force—Iraq, and Multi-National Corps—Iraq. With a small team of civilian and military strategists, this included primary responsibility for the development of the 2005 National Defense Strategy.

His 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.