Steven J. Butow

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Maj Gen Steve “Bucky” Butow, USAF, is the Military Deputy of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Office of the Secretary of Defense.

General Butow joined the team in 2015 as an early plank owner when DIU was known as the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx).  He initially served as  West Coast Military Lead and helped establish the organization’s operating locations in Silicon Valley, California; Boston, Massachusetts; and Austin, Texas.  In 2016, he was was selected as DIU’s first Space Portfolio Director.  Upon promotion to brigadier general, Butow continued this role at DIU as a DoD civilian.

General Butow continues to serve as the Commander of the California Air National Guard in a dual Title 10/32 status where he leads 4,900 Airmen assigned to five wings and a headquarters staff performing air, space and cyber operations as part of the Total Air Force.  He commanded the 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Field, CA, from 2011 to 2014.

General Butow’s previous Title 10 leadership assignments include Deputy Director of the Joint Search and Rescue Center for U.S. Central Command in 2005, and as Chief of Personnel Recovery for U.S. Air Forces Central in 2007 supporting Operations IRAQI and ENDURING FREEDOM.  Prior to joining DIU, Butow was the Vice Chief of the Joint Staff, California Military Department with responsibilities including cybersecurity, incident awareness and innovation. He has deployed ten times to support combat and contingency operations across Southwest Asia, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and other global locations.  General Butow has more than 3,500 flying hours in T-37, T-38, C-130, HC-130 and MC-130P aircraft. 

Butow graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Physics & Astronomy and earned a M.S. in Management with specialization in Air and Space Strategic Studies from the University of Maryland. He has also completed executive courses at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and was a member of the National Leadership Preparedness Initiative (NPLI) Cohort 16. Butow is a lifetime member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi for academic achievement.

As a researcher with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, Butow worked on instrument concepts for Mars surface soil analysis at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. He later served as co-principal investigator for a series of airborne science missions for which he was recognized for outstanding achievement and contributions to the Space Science Division in 1999 and received an Ames Honor Award as a member of an Astrobiology Mission Project Team in 2000.