Mr. Doug Nichols serves as the Director, Senior Administrative Office, and Senior Administrative Officer in the Office of the Director of Administration and Management (ODA&M). In this capacity, he provides enterprise-wide administrative management, analysis, and professional guidance to the Director of Administration and Management (DA&M) on matters affecting ODA&M support functions. During Presidential election cycles, Mr. Nichols also serves as the Deputy Department of Defense (DoD) Presidential Transition Director, where he oversees, and coordinates all DoD activities related to Presidential transitions.
Prior to his current role, Mr. Nichols served as Director, Plans and Programs Office within Washington Headquarters Services (WHS). In that position, he provided administrative and operational support to senior Department leaders; coordinated with DoD and legislative boards, commissions, and task forces; and led Department wide ceremonial events. In 2020, he was selected to lead the Department’s centralized Presidential transition support office, ensuring the planning and execution of all logistical and administrative activities in support of Department officials and the President-elect, Agency Review Team.
From 2013 to 2014, Mr. Nichols served as Chief of Operations and Chief of Staff for the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force. Established by Congress, the Commission conducted a comprehensive review of the Air Force’s structure to determine how it could best meet current and future mission requirements within available resources.
Mr. Nichols served 23 years in the United States Air Force, holding both operational and staff assignments. His operational assignments included Minuteman III crew duty, Cooperative Threat Reduction implementation in the former Soviet Union, and counter-IED operations in Iraq. His staff assignments included tours with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Headquarters Air Force, United States Strategic Command, and The White House.
Mr. Nichols earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from California Lutheran University and a Master of Science in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota. He is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College. He also completed the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executive Fellows Program and is a graduate of the United States Secret Service Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program.