Rear Admiral David Oliver

Last Name: Oliver

First Name: David

Middle Name: Rogers

Suffix: Jr

Nickname: Dave

Medals and Honors: Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (6), Bronge Palm to the Dept of Defense Award for Distinquished Pulic Service and Army and Navy Public Service Awards.

ACNSL Offices and Committees:

• Board of Directors

• Book Award Committee Co-Chair

Rank: Rear Admiral (Upper Half)

Service/Department: U.S. Navy

Last or Significant Assignment: Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology

Areas of Experience:

• Treaties and Negotiations, Acquisition

Articles, Books and Publications:

• Dave is the published author of Making it in Washington, as well as two novels and three other leadership books: Lead On and Against the Tide, Admiral Rickover’s Leadership Principles and the Rise of the Nuclear Navy, and most recently, A Navy Admiral’s Bronze Rules: Managing Risk and Leadership. In December, Georgetown University Press will publish American Defense Reform: Lessons from Failures and Successes and Failures in the US Navy.

Dave Oliver was born near Indianapolis and attended Ben Davis High School. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy and served during the Cold War aboard submarines in Charleston, Connecticut, Newport News, Pascagoula, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.

After the normal junior submarine officer tours and four years in command of his own submarine, Dave directed the operations of all the US and Allied submarines in the Pacific against the Soviet Union as the Commander of Submarine Group Seven in Yokosuka, Japan. This was followed by duty as Chief of Staff of the Seventh Fleet. Following selection for the rank of admiral he became responsible for plans and policy in the Pentagon. Dave was then assigned to train all the attack submarines on the West Coast (Commander, Submarine Group Five in San Diego) and facilitated filming The Hunt for Red October.  He returned to the Pentagon to become responsible for planning for the Navy during the four transition years following the Cold War. In his final Navy tour, he served as the Principal Deputy for the civilian Secretary for Acquisition, Research and Logistics.

After retiring from the Navy, Dave worked at Westinghouse and Northrop Grumman. Soon he was appointed by President Clinton back to the Department of Defense as the Principal Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.  Some years later, President Bush appointed him as the Director of Management and Budget for the Coalition Forces in Iraq as well as the special advisor for the Iraqi Finance Minister. 

When he returned from Iraq, Dave believed it was critical to US interests to improve our international ties, and thus took a job for a decade as the Chief Operating Officer of much of Airbus’ United States organization.

Dave was one of the founding members of the American College of National Security Leaders with the goal of improving the dialogue between political officials and retired admirals, generals and ambassadors. 

Dave is the published author of Making it in Washington, as well as two novels and three other leadership books, Lead On, Against the Tide, Admiral Rickover’s Leadership Principles and the Rise of the Nuclear Navy, and A Navy Admiral’s Bronze Rules: Managing Risk and Leadership.  His book on American Defense Reform: Lessons from Failures and Successes in the Navy, will be published by Georgetown Press this December.