The commander of Space Operations Command is a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

who leads the

field command The United States Space Force is organized by different units: the Space Staff, the field commands, and the space deltas. The Space Force is organized as one of two coequal military service branches within the Department of the Air Force, the o ...

that provide space forces to the United States Space Command and supports other unified combatant commands. A senior leader in the Space Force, it is only one of three field commanders and, of which, only one of two held by a lieutenant general. Space Operations Command (SpOC) was established by redesignating the Air Force Space Command as Space Operations Command, which was redesignated prior as Headquarters, United States Space Force to serve in transitional capacity as the new service's headquarters. The commander of SpOC, thus, can be traced back to 1 September 1982, when General

James V. Hartinger James Vincent Hartinger (April 17, 1925 – October 9, 2000) was a United States Air Force general who served as Commander in Chief, North American Air Defense Command from 1980 to 1981; Commander in Chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command ...

served as the first commander of Space Command. Like any other three-star officer position in the U.S. Armed Forces, the commander of SpOC is nominated by the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

and must be confirmed by the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. The current commander of SpOC is Lieutenant General Stephen Whiting.

List of commanders

Space Command

Air Force Space Command

Headquarters, United States Space Force

Space Operations Command

List of vice commanders

* Lt Gen

David D. Thompson David Dean Thompson (born February 18, 1963) is a retired United States Space Force General (United States), general who served as the first vice chief of space operations from 2020 to 2023. He served as the vice commander of the Air Force Spac ...

, 4 April 2018 – 21 October 2020 * Maj Gen

John E. Shaw John Edwin Shaw (born March 17, 1968) is a United States Space Force Lieutenant general (United States), lieutenant general who has served as the deputy commander of the United States Space Command since November 2020. He previously served as c ...

, 21 October 2020 – 16 November 2020 * Maj Gen DeAnna Burt, 16 November 2020 – 22 August 2022 * Maj Gen

Douglas Schiess Douglas Andrew Schiess (born February 5, 1970) is a United States Space Force major general who serves as the commander of Combined Force Space Component Command and vice commander of Space Operations Command. He previously served as the deputy ...

, 22 August 2022 – present

List of deputy commanders

* Maj Gen Maurice C. Padden, July 1985 – 1 October 1986 * Maj Gen Ralph E. Spraker, 1 October 1986 – June 1989 * Maj Gen G. Wesley Clark, June 1989 – April 1990 * Maj Gen Jay W. Kelley, April 1990 – March 1992 * Lt Gen

Thomas S. Moorman Jr. Thomas Samuel Moorman Jr. (November 16, 1940 – June 18, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer who served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from July 1994 to August 1997. Early life Moorman was born in Washington, D ...

, March 1992 – July 1994 * Lt Gen Patrick P. Caruana, August 1994 – August 1997 * Lt Gen Lance W. Lord, August 1997 – June 1999 * Lt Gen

Donald G. Cook Donald Graham Cook (born August 13, 1946) is a retired United States Air Force four-star general who served as commander, Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas from 2001 to 2005. Cook entered the Air Force in 1969 ...

, July 1999 – June 2000 * Lt Gen Roger G. DeKok, June 2000 – April 2002 * Lt Gen Robert C. Hinson, April 2002 – August 2003 * Lt Gen Daniel P. Leaf, August 2003 – September 2005 * Lt Gen

Frank Klotz Frank Graham Klotz (born September 7, 1950) served as Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and Administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy. He was confirmed for the position on Apri ...

, October 2005 – August 2007 * Maj Gen Thomas F. Deppe, August 2007 – August 2009 * Lt Gen Michael J. Basla, August 2009 – May 2012 * Lt Gen

John E. Hyten John Earl Hyten (born July 18, 1959) is a retired United States Air Force general who served as the 11th vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2019 to 2021. A career space operations and acquisitions officer, he commanded the United St ...

, May 2012 – August 2014 * Maj Gen David J. Buck, August 2014 – August 2015 * Maj Gen

, July 2015 – July 2017 * Maj Gen Robert J. Skinner, July 2017 – July 2018 * Maj Gen

, August 2018 – 20 November 2019 * Maj Gen Stephen Whiting, 20 November 2019 – 21 October 2020

List of senior enlisted leaders

* CMSgt Charles P. Zimkas Jr., 1 September 1982 * CMSgt Thomas J. Echols, ~1984 * CMSgt John W. Wright, ~1987 * CMSgt Delamar T. Jones, ~1989 * CMSgt Richard G. Griffis, ~1993 * CMSgt Robert M. Clougherty, 1997 * CMSgt Dennis L. Fritz, ~1998 * CMSgt Kevin D. Estrem, 2000 * CMSgt Ronald G. Kriete, June 2002 * CMSgt Michael T. Sullivan, August 2006 * CMSgt Richard T. Small, February 2008 * CMSgt Linus Jordan, September 2011 * CMSgt Douglas McIntyre, May 2013 – August 2015 * CMSgt

Patrick F. McMahon Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

, August 2015 – May 2016 * CMSgt Brendan I. Criswell, July 2016 – November 2018 * CMSgt

Roger A. Towberman Roger A. Towberman (born 1966/1967) is a senior non-commissioned officer of the United States Space Force who has served as the first chief master sergeant of the Space Force since April 3, 2020. He was also the service's first enlisted member, ...

, November 2018 – April 2022 * CMSgt John F. Bentivegna, 21 October 2020 – April 2022 * CMSgt Jacob C Simmons, April 2022 – present

References

Notes

Citations

{{United States Space Force United States Space Force generals