The Defense Innovation Unit has appointed Steve Butow as senior adviser to DIU Director and 2026 Wash100 Award winner Owen West. DIU said in a LinkedIn post Friday that Butow will also serve as a member of its executive committee.
In his new roles, Butow will align the unit’s strategic direction with the joint force's operational priorities.
“Extremely honored to advise and assist Owen West and the rest of our DIU team with rapidly fielding commercially-derived technologies that create and sustain asymmetric advantage for the joint warfighter,” he commented on LinkedIn.
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Who Is Steve Butow?
Butow has been instrumental in the DIU's evolution. He joined the unit in 2015, back when it was still known as the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental. In 2016, he was selected to serve as the space portfolio director, overseeing small satellites, space launch and reentry, space situational awareness, hybrid space communications, and other lines of effort.
He also helped establish the unit's presence in key innovation hubs, including in Silicon Valley, California; Boston, Massachusetts; and Austin, Texas, according to his bio on the DIU website.
Outside of his work at the DIU, Butow serves as commander of the California Air National Guard in a dual Title 10/32 capacity. Throughout his military career, he held leadership positions, including command of the 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Field, deputy director of the Joint Search and Rescue Center for the U.S. Central Command, chief of personnel recovery for the U.S. Air Forces Central and vice chief of the joint staff at the California Military Department.
He has deployed 10 times in support of combat and contingency missions and has logged more than 3,500 flight hours across multiple aircraft.
What Are Owen West’s Priorities as DIU Director?
Butow’s appointment comes as DIU sharpens its operational focus on the rapid deployment of commercial technologies under West’s leadership.
In his initial guidance, West, who assumed the director role in March, said the unit will prioritize efforts that translate commercial innovation into “combat power.” He also identified three focus areas: high-end technologies that deliver battlefield overmatch; capabilities that replace personnel exposure with machines, fires or electronic effects; and scalable systems that reduce cost-per-kill metrics.
West added that technologies in the latter two categories should be fielded within three years. Other projects will only be considered if they generate efficiencies that can be redirected to weapons development or training.
