Military Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Christopher C. Miller
Christopher C. Miller official portrait
Acting United States Secretary of Defense
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 9, 2020
President Donald Trump
Preceded by Mark Esper
Director of the National Counterterrorism Center

In office
August 10, 2020 – November 9, 2020
President Donald Trump
Preceded by Joseph Maguire
Succeeded by Steve Vanech (acting)
Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict

In office
June 19, 2020 – August 10, 2020
President Donald Trump
Preceded by Thomas Alexander (acting)
Succeeded by Ezra Cohen-Watnick (acting)
Personal details
Born Christopher Charles Miller
October 15, 1965(1965-10-15) (age 59)
Platteville, Wisconsin, U.S.
Spouse(s) Kathryn Maag (m. 1989)
Children 3
Military service
Allegiance United States
Service/branch Flag of the United States Army United States Army
Years of service 1983–2014
Rank Colonel
Unit 5th SFG Beret Flash 5th Special Forces Group
Battles/wars Iraq War
War in Afghanistan

Christopher Charles Miller (born October 15, 1965)[1] is the acting United States Secretary of Defense and the former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Prior to serving in civilian leadership at the Department of Defense, Miller was a Green Beret, commanding 5th Special Forces Group in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a defense contractor.

Miller was initially the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, a role to which he was confirmed by the Senate by voice vote on August 6, 2020.[2][3][4] He was named Acting Secretary of Defense by President Donald Trump on November 9, 2020, following Trump's firing of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.[5][6][7][8]

Early life and education[]

Miller was born in Platteville, Wisconsin, and raised in Iowa City from 1975.[9] His mother, Lois Maxine Miller,[10][11] taught at the University of Delaware.[9] His father, Harvey Dell Miller, was police chief of Iowa City for 13 years,[12] and according to Miller he "believed strongly in the nobility of public service".[13] He had previously worked as an assistant professor of law and government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[9]

Miller attended Iowa City High School,[14] before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from George Washington University in 1987. He was awarded the Gardiner G. Hubbard Memorial Award in U.S. History for having the highest grade point average in the history department.[15]

Military service[]

Miller served in the military from 1983 to 2014.[3] He started as an enlisted soldier, then was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1987, and then joined the United States Army Special Forces in 1993.[5][16]

He received a Master of Arts in national security studies from the Naval War College in 2001.[1][17] He also graduated from the College of Naval Command and Staff and the Army War College.[7]

He participated in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In Afghanistan, he was a company commander in the 5th Special Forces Group, which fought al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In Iraq, he commanded Special Forces units in 2006 and 2007.[16] His promotion to colonel was approved in December 2009.[18]

Miller served as program executive officer (PEO) for rotary wing programs at U.S. Special Operations Command in 2010.[19] One of his last assignments as an Army officer was as Director for Special Operations and Irregular Warfare in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict & Interdependent Capabilities at the Pentagon in 2011.[20]

Civilian career[]

After retiring in 2014, Miller worked as a defense contractor.[21]

From March 2018 until December 2019,[16] Miller served in the Trump administration as a counterterrorism advisor on the United States National Security Council,[4][22] where he worked through and was involved in operations against ISIL.[23]

In 2020, he became deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combating terrorism.[4][7][16] He was involved in designating Iran, Hezbollah, and American domestic terrorism as threats to the United States.[23][24]

On August 10, 2020, he became Director of the National Counterterrorism Center.[23] Trump nominated Miller to the role in March 2020,[16][24] and Miller was confirmed by the Senate by voice vote on August 6.[2][4][23]

Acting Secretary of Defense[]

On November 9, 2020, Miller was appointed as Acting Secretary of Defense, following the termination of Mark Esper.[4][25] Miller's first overseas trip occurred in the third week of November when he visited multiple military units in the Middle East and Africa to include a three-hour stopover in Mogadishu. Miller said that in addition to meeting senior military and foreign officials during the trip, he wanted to visit troops and thank them for their service on the Thanksgiving holiday.[26]

Miller's chief of staff as Acting Secretary of Defense is Kashyap Patel, a former aide to Congressman Devin Nunes. Patel is known for trying to discredit investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election.[27]

In December 2020, it was reported that Miller had ordered the Pentagon to postpone 40 meetings with the incoming Joe Biden administration.[28][29] Miller said that this was a "mutually agreed-upon holiday pause" with the Biden transition, but the Biden transition team said no such agreement had been made.[27] Miller's decision to halt cooperation with the incoming administration came in the wake of President Donald Trump's refusal to concede in the election, refusals by various Trump administration political appointees to cooperate, and baseless claims of fraud by the Trump administration.[27][28][29]

Personal life[]

Miller married Kathryn Maag Miller on September 16, 1989.[14] She works as an office manager for a health and environment lobbying group.[1] They have three children.[3]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Questionnaire for Completion by Presidential Nominees". United States Senate. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/q-cmiller-072220.pdf. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 "PN1741 - Nomination of Christopher C. Miller for Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". August 6, 2020. https://www.congress.gov/nomination/116th-congress/1741. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Christopher Miller, Director of NCTC". August 10, 2020. https://www.dni.gov/files/NCTC/documents/leadership_biographies/DNCTC_Miller_Biography.pdf. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Beavers, Olivia (November 9, 2020). "Trump fires Defense chief Mark Esper" (in en). TheHill. https://thehill.com/policy/defense/524728-trump-fires-defense-chief-esper. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 Cooper, Helene; Schmitt, Eric (November 9, 2020). "Trump Fires Mark Esper, His Defense Secretary". New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/us/politics/esper-defense-secretary.html. 
  6. "Director NCTC". https://www.dni.gov/index.php/nctc-who-we-are/director-nctc. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Christopher C. Miller". https://www.defense.gov/Our-Story/Biographies/Biography/Article/2111192/christopher-c-miller/. 
  8. realDonaldTrump (November 9, 2020). "I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately..". https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1325859406349799424. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Mullendore, Jim R. (September 3, 1975). "New police chief tells philosophy". Iowa City Press-Citizen. pp. 1. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62940851/new-police-chief-tells-philosophy/. 
  10. "Neighbors". Iowa City Press-Citizen. August 29, 1984. pp. 32. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62881090/iowa-city-press-citizen/. 
  11. "Neighbors". Iowa City Press-Citizen. March 2, 2001. pp. 23. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62881598/iowa-city-press-citizen/. 
  12. "7 apply to be county supervisor". Iowa City Press-Citizen. December 31, 1988. pp. 9. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62902817/7-apply-to-be-county-supervisor/. 
  13. "Talk 2020: What Did the Candidates Say?" (in en). Washington Street Journal. July 22, 2020. https://www.wsj.com/talk2020/transcript/CHTS000020200723eg7m0005o. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 "Marriage of Maag". Iowa City Press-Citizen. September 19, 1989. pp. 15. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62898472/marriage-of-maag-miller/. 
  15. "Neighbors". Iowa City Press-Citizen. June 3, 1987. pp. 36. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62902018/neighbors/. 
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 "Christopher Miller, Trump's surprise acting defense secretary, has a thin resume for the job but deep experience in counterterrorism". https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/acting-defense-secretary-chris-miller/2020/11/09/43a4296e-22d0-11eb-8599-406466ad1b8e_story.html. 
  17. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individual to a Key Administration Post" (in en-US). https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-intent-nominate-individual-key-administration-post-22/. 
  18. "PN1175 — Army". December 3, 2009. https://www.congress.gov/nomination/111th-congress/1175. 
  19. Miller, COL Chris (June 23, 2010). "Rotary Wing". U.S. Special Operations Command. https://ndiastorage.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/ndia/2010/SOFIC/PEOSessionsChrisMiller.pdf. 
  20. Miller, Colonel Christopher (February 14, 2011). "Adapting SOF for Defense, Diplomacy, and Development Operations". U.S. Department of Defense. https://ndiastorage.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/ndia/2011/SOLIC/Weds4Miller.pdf. 
  21. "Defense Sec. Mark Esper Ousted by Trump" (in en). spectrumlocalnews.com. https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2020/11/09/trump-fires-mark-esper-as-defense-secretary-. 
  22. Cooper, Helene; Schmitt, Eric (November 9, 2020). "Trump Fires Mark Esper, His Defense Secretary" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/us/politics/esper-defense-secretary.html. 
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 "Trump Ousts Defense Chief Esper Who Balked at Loyalty Demand" (in en). Bloomberg.com. November 9, 2020. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-09/trump-ousts-esper-as-defense-secretary-after-a-rocky-tenure. 
  24. 24.0 24.1 "Trump plans to nominate Special Forces veteran to head counterterrorism center amid uncertainty about its future". https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/christopher-miller-national-counterterrorism-center/2020/03/18/1590b98e-691c-11ea-b313-df458622c2cc_story.html. 
  25. Cloud, David S. (November 9, 2020). "Esper's firing raises concerns about Trump's plans for the Pentagon in final weeks". Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-11-09/espers-firing-raises-concerns-about-trumps-plans-for-the-pentagon-in-final-weeks. 
  26. Schmitt, Eric (November 28, 2020). "Ahead of Expected Cuts in Troops, Pentagon Chief Makes a Visit to Somalia". https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/27/world/africa/somalia-trump-pentagon-miller.html?searchResultPosition=1. 
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 Kaplan, Thomas (2020-12-29). "Biden Admonishes Trump Administration Over ‘Obstruction’" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/us/politics/biden-trump-transition.html. 
  28. 28.0 28.1 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/biden-trump-transition-pentagon-dispute/2020/12/18/d8142d94-415f-11eb-a402-fba110db3b42_story.html?itid=hp-top-table-main
  29. 29.0 29.1 "Acting Pentagon chief halts Biden transition briefings" (in en). 2020-12-18. https://www.axios.com/pentagon-biden-transition-briefings-123a9658-4af1-4632-a6e6-770117784d60.html. 

External links[]

Advertisement