Honorable Brian Birdwell
Assistant Secretary of War for Sustainment
Confirmed by the Senate in May, 2026, the Honorable Brian Birdwell currently serves as the Assistant Secretary of War for Sustainment (ASW(S)). As the ASW(S), HON Birdwell is the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition & Sustainment (USW(A&S)), Deputy Secretary of War, and Secretary of War on Department of War (DoW) logistics, materiel readiness, and product support. HON Birdwell also oversees the Defense Logistics Agency and Defense Microelectronics Activity and, on behalf of the USW(A&S), is the principal logistics official for the DoW.
Prior to his swearing in as the ASW(S), HON Birdwell served in elected office, representing the communities in the 12 counties of Texas State Senate District 22. First elected to the Texas State Senate in a special election in June 2010, HON Birdwell served as a State Senator through May 2026. While in the Texas State Senate, HON Birdwell served as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Border Security along with numerous other committee assignments. In 2021, HON Birdwell was selected by his fellow Senate colleagues to serve as the President Pro Tempore of the Texas State Senate for the 87th Regular Session.
Prior to elected office, HON Birdwell had a distinguished career with the U.S. Army. As the Distinguished Military Graduate of the Lamar University Army ROTC program, HON Birdwell was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army in 1984 and served a 20-year career in both Field Artillery and Quartermaster billets with numerous training deployments and two operational deployments.
In 1990, he deployed to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for Exceptional Meritorious Achievement and as part of the 2nd ACR battle group was awarded the Valorous Unit Award for action at the Battle of the 73rd Easting. In 1998, he deployed to Central America as the Joint Operations Officer for Joint Task Force Aguila to execute humanitarian relief operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch.
In 2001, HON Birdwell was serving on the Department of the Army staff at the Pentagon as the military aide to the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management. On September 11th, when American Airlines Flight 77 was crashed just yards away from his second floor Pentagon office, HON Birdwell was critically wounded and severely burned. Of the burns that covered more than 60 percent of his body, nearly half were third degree in severity. HON Birdwell was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received that day. Upon retirement in July 2004, he was awarded the Legion of Merit.
Motivated by his personal experience on September 11th and during his recovery, HON Birdwell and his wife Mel, operated Face the Fire Ministries from 2004 to 2017 which they jointly founded to support critical-burn survivors and wounded service-members and their families.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, HON Birdwell is a graduate of Lamar University in Beaumont, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he earned a Master of Public Administration degree. HON Birdwell was a 2024 inductee in the U.S. Field Artillery Association Hall of Fame. In 2025, HON Birdwell was inducted in the U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
The Birdwells have been married for more than 35 years and have one son, Matt, daughter-in-law, Ann Marie, and two grandchildren.
