John Edwin Shaw (born March 17, 1968) is a

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

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 has served as the deputy commander of the United States Space Command since November 2020. He previously served as commander of the Combined Force Space Component Command and deputy commander of Space Operations Command.

Early life and education

John Edwin Shaw was born on March 17, 1968. Raised in Norton, Massachusetts, he is a distinguished graduate from the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

in 1990 with a B.S. degree in astronautical engineering and a minor in Russian language. He later earned an M.S. degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

in 1991 with a thesis entitled ''Optimal Control Designs for an Inverted Cart-Pendulum Array''. He went on to receive two M.A. degrees in 1998 and 2004: one in organizational management from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

and one in military operational arts and sciences from

Air Command and Staff College The Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate-level Professional Military Education (PME) school. It is a subordinate command of the Air Uni ...

, respectively. He also completed a M.S. degree in national security strategy in 2008 from the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

. He was also a senior executive fellow of the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

in 2010.

Military career

After graduating from the United States Air Force Academy, Shaw was commissioned into the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

on May 30, 1990. For a year, he studied at the University of Washington. His first operational assignment was at the

1st Space Operations Squadron The 1st Space Operations Squadron (1 SOPS) is a United States Space Force unit responsible for space-based space domain awareness. Located at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, the squadron operates the Space Based Space Surveillance system, th ...

from 1991 to 1994 where he was the deputy crew commander and spacecraft systems engineer. In October 1994, he was assigned as the flight commander and chief of mission analysis at the Mission Control Complex IX, Operating Division 4, Onizuka Air Force Station in California. From 1996 to 1998, he was an intern in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Space and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition at

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Shaw was assigned to locations outside the United States from 1998 to 2001. He was first assigned to

Ramstein Air Base Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for a year as the chief of special information warfare plans for the 32nd Air Operations Group. He was then deployed for two months to Naples, Italy where he was chief of special technical operations for Joint Task Force Noble Anvil during the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

. After that, he was assigned as the executive officer for director of aerospace operations of the

United States Air Forces in Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

14th Air Force Redesignated as Space Operations Command

In 2001, Shaw became a field grade officer, having been promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, and was reassigned to the

Air Force headquarters The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

as the deputy chief of the strategy branch in the Directorate for Space Operations and Integration. For a year after that, he was a speechwriter for the secretary of the Air Force and

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

, assigned to their executive action group. He spent almost a year at the

where he earned an M.A. degree. From 2004 to 2005, he served as the first operations officer for the newly activated

25th Space Control Tactics Squadron The 25th Space Range Squadron is a squadron of the United States Space Force. It is assigned to the Space Delta 11 at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. The 25th operates the Space Test and Training Range along with the 379th Space Range ...

. After such tour, he was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He took command of the

4th Space Operations Squadron The United States Space Force's 4th Space Operations Squadron is a satellite operations unit located at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. 4 SOPS is part of Space Delta 8 and responsible for command and control of the Milstar/Advanced Ext ...

in June 2005 from Ronald L. Huntley, which he commanded for two years. After his first command duty, he spent a year as a student at the

where he completed an M.S. degree in national security strategy. Shaw was then promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 2008 and assigned as director of the

United States Strategic Command United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear deterr ...

commander's action group, serving under General Kevin P. Chilton. On July 1, 2010, he took command of the

50th Operations Group The 50th Operations Group was a subordinate unit of the 50th Space Wing, and assigned to Air Force Space Command from 1991-2019. The group, redesignated as Space Delta 8 on 24 Jul 2020 is stationed at Schriever Space Force Base, previously Schr ...

. After two years, he was assigned to the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Space Policy) as a senior policy advisor. After his assignment in Washington, Shaw took command of the

21st Space Wing The 21st Space Wing (21 SW) was the United States Space Force's ground–based missile warning and space control wing. The 21st Space Wing was assigned to Space Operations Command and headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. The 21st ...

on July 26, 2013. On June 5, 2015, before relinquishing command to

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 ...

, he was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. From June 2015 to June 2017, he was assigned to the U.S. Strategic Command as the deputy director for global operations. After that, he was reassigned to the Air Force Space Command first as the director of strategic plans, programs, requirements, and analysis from 2017 to 2018 and then as deputy commander of the major command from 2018 to 2019 after he was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. Shaw took over command of the Combined Force Space Component Command and

Fourteenth Air Force The Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF; Air Forces Strategic) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The command was responsible for the organizatio ...

after he and Major General

Stephen N. Whiting Stephen Newman Whiting (born September 14, 1967) is a United States Space Force lieutenant general who serves as the first commander of the Space Operations Command. He previously served as the deputy commander of the Air Force Space Command, w ...

traded their current positions, with Whiting taking over Shaw's position as deputy commander of the Air Force Space Command. On December 20, 2019, with the establishment of the

, the Fourteenth Air Force was temporarily redesignated as the Space Operations Command. On October 21, 2020, the Space Operations Command in Vandenberg Air Force Base was inactivated prior to the activation of a separate Space Operations Command, a new

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 ...

for which Shaw became the deputy commander. On September 30, 2020, Shaw was nominated for transfer to the Space Force, promotion to

, and assignment as deputy commander of the United States Space Command. He relinquished command of the Combined Force Space Component Command on November 16, 2020, to Major General DeAnna Burt. He was promoted and transferred to the Space Force on November 23, 2020, in a ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy and took on duties as deputy commander the next day.

Awards and decorations

Shaw is the recipient of the following awards: * General

Jerome F. O'Malley General (United States), General Jerome Francis O'Malley (February 25, 1932 – April 20, 1985) was a United States Air Force four-star general who served as Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (VCSAF) from 1982 to 1983; Commander in Chief, Pacif ...

Distinguished Space Leadership Award * Associate Fellow,

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...

* National Finalist, White House Fellow Program *

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Historical Society and U.S. Air Force Historical Foundation "Two Air Forces" Award for Writing (1998)

Dates of promotion

Personal life

Shaw is married to Tonia Shaw.

Writings

Books

Articles

* * * * *

Thesis

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, John E. Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Space Operations Command personnel United States Air Force generals United States Air Force Academy alumni University of Washington alumni George Washington University alumni Air University (United States Air Force) alumni National War College alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Space Force generals 1968 births