NNSA Administrator recognizes Deputy Commander at U.S. Strategic Command

U.S. Navy Vice Adm. David Kriete was recently awarded the Administrator’s Distinguished Service Silver Award for his exceptional service as the Director of Strategic Capabilities Policy at the National Security Council from July 2016 to March 2018. He assumed responsibility as the Deputy Commander of U.S. Strategic Command in June 2018.

“Thanks to his objective counsel, our Nation’s policymakers were prepared to focus on the goal of maintaining a credible nuclear deterrent. This agency and this Department have been privileged to work with him, and we are glad that we will continue to be able to draw on his experience and insight as USSTRATCOM’s deputy commander,” said NNSA Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty.

With Kriete’s leadership and guidance, the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review successfully emphasized key NNSA priorities including nuclear infrastructure modernization, nuclear counterterrorism and nonproliferation, and the need to maintain a world-class workforce.

Critically, he encouraged broad interagency collaboration in support for the Nuclear Security Enterprise. Kriete’s work to advance U.S. nuclear modernization and recapitalization of the nuclear weapons complex will have a lasting impact on not only the nation’s safety and security, but also that of allies and partners around the world.

In a small ceremony at NNSA headquarters in Washington, D.C., Gordon-Hagerty presented Kriete with the award, along with a U.S. flag that has been flown over every NNSA lab, plant, and site.

Kriete is a 1984 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he majored in general engineering. He holds a master’s degree in engineering management from Old Dominion University.