He was previously the military aviation analyst for the Congressional Research Service, Congress’s in-house policy shop, for 12 years, where he wrote and maintained analytical reports on major military aviation programs (manned and unmanned, all services); briefed members and staff on all related policy, budget, technical, and other matters; and testified before Congressional committees.
In previous Capitol Hill billets, he oversaw the defense procurement budget, missile defense, and other matters on the professional staff of the House Committee on Armed Services for the FY2000 through 2005 budgets, and earlier served as military legislative assistant to a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
As senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, he was principal author or co-author of major reports on Department of Defense reform and missile defense, and initiated studies on reserve component roles and missions, systems acquisition, military logistics, and Special Forces aviation. Subsequently, Gertler established a defense policy and analysis center for the Aerospace Industries Association.
Gertler was extensively involved in the 1997 Quadrennial Defense Review while in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He was senior analyst for the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission during its 1995 round, and began his career in 1984 as a national security analyst with the RAND Corporation.
He is a cum laude graduate of Amherst College, received an M.A. from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, and graduated with distinction from the United States Naval War College. He was named a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 2021.
An award-winning writer, Gertler’s commentaries have appeared in Defense News, Naval Institute Proceedings, Air Force magazine, and the Washington Post, among others, and on national television and radio. He has also written many speeches, op-eds, and other public policy statements for members of Congress and Administration officials, and is principal author of a popular book explaining the defense establishment for laypeople.