Colonel
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
Strategy, Plans and Resources
Born in Lansing, Michigan, 15 March 1949, Scott W. Rowell graduated from North High School, Springfield, Ohio in 1967. By 1973, he was a Distinguished Military Graduate from ROTC at Arkansas State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. His education also includes a Master of Arts in international relations from American University and a Master of Science in national resource strategy from the National Defense University. Mr. Rowell served 25 years in the Army as an armor officer, prior to his retirement as a colonel in 1998. His Army career included assignments in Germany as a platoon leader, company commander and battalion commander. He also served as an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences, United States Military Academy, at West Point. His last assignment prior to retirement was the Office of Net Assessment at the Pentagon. His military honors include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and Army Commendation Medal.
As Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans and Resources, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense (DASD), Mr. Rowell has two principal responsibilities: development of homeland defense policy and strategic guidance and policy integration; and oversight of Department of Defense (DoD) homeland defense policies, programs, and budgets within DoD components. His portfolio also includes participation in related hemispheric issues with the governments of Canada and Mexico and interaction with interagency counterparts in the National Security Council, Homeland Security Council, the White House Executive Office of the President, and the Department of Homeland Security. Under his leadership, his staff designed and produced the first-ever Homeland Defense and Civil Support Strategy for the department. This document provides a functional set of capabilities to protect the air and sea approaches of the nation and thus meets the department's and administration's goal of protecting the American people. Mr. Rowell also initiated a series of bi-lateral discussions with the governments of Canada and Mexico. These exchanges led to the development of a supporting strategy focused on internationalizing homeland defense with foreign nations. He and his staff are the focal point for a multitude of air, land, and maritime policy issues critical to the department and combatant commanders.
