List of United States Space Force four-star generals

This is a complete list of four-star generals in the United States Space Force. The rank of general (or full general, or four-star general), ranks above lieutenant general (three-star general) and is the highest rank achievable in the U.S. Space Force.

There have been five four-star generals in the history of the U.S. Space Force. All achieved that rank while on active duty. Generals entered the Space Force via several paths: Two were commissioned via the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) and three were commissioned via the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC).

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List of generals

The following lists of four-star generals are sortable by last name, date of rank. The date listed is that of the officer's first promotion to general, and may differ from the officer's entry in the U.S. Space Force register. The year commissioned is taken to be the year the officer was commissioned which may precede the officer's actual date of commission by up to two years. Each entry lists the general's name, date of rank, active-duty position held while serving at four-star rank, number of years of active-duty service at four-star rank (Yrs), year commissioned and source of commission, number of years in commission when promoted to four-star rank (YC), and other biographical notes.

No.	Name	Date of rank	Position(s)	Yrs.	Commission	YC.	Notes
1	raymondJohn W. Raymond	2016-10-2525 Oct 2016	Commander, Air Force Space Command (COMAFSPC), 2016–2017.^[1] Commander, Air Force Space Command/Joint Force Space Component Commander (COMAFSPC/JFSCC), 2017–2019.^[1] Commander, U.S. Space Command/Commander, Air Force Space Command (CDRUSSPACECOM/COMAFSPC), 2019.^[1] Chief of Space Operations/Commander, U.S. Space Command (CSO/CDRUSSPACECOM), 2019–2020. Chief of Space Operations (CSO), 2020–2022.	6	1984 (AFROTC)	32	(born 1962)^[2]
2	thompsonDavid D. Thompson	2020-10-011 Oct 2020^[3]	Vice Chief of Space Operations (VCSO), 2020–2023.	3	1985 (USAFA)	35	(born 1963)^[2]
3	saltzmanB. Chance Saltzman	2022-11-022 Nov 2022	Chief of Space Operations (CSO), 2022–present.	2	1991 (AFROTC)	31	(born 1969)^[4]
4	guetleinMichael A. Guetlein	2023-12-2121 Dec 2023	Vice Chief of Space Operations (VCSO), 2023–present.	1	1991 (AFROTC)	31	(born 1967)^[5]
5	whitingStephen N. Whiting	2024-01-1010 Jan 2024	Commander, U.S. Space Command (CDRUSSPACECOM), 2024–present.	0	1989 (USAFA)	35	(born 1967)^[6]

History

Four-star positions

2019–present

The modern rank of general was established by the Officer Personnel Act of 1947, which authorized the President to designate certain positions of importance to carry that rank. Officers appointed to such positions bear temporary four-star rank while so serving, and are allowed to retire at that rank if their performance is judged satisfactory.^[7] The total number of active-duty four-star generals in the Space Force is limited to a fixed percentage of the number of Space Force general officers serving at all ranks.^[8]

Within the Space Force, the chief of space operations (CSO) is a four-star general by statute. Other four-star generals can occupy positions of designated importance; including the vice chief of space operations (VCSO) and the commander of the United States Space Command (USSPACECOM).

The Space Force also competes with the other services for a number of joint four-star positions, such as the chairman (CJCS) and vice chairman (VJCS) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Other joint four-star positions have included unified combatant commanders, sub-unified combatant commands, and certain NATO staff positions.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Held this four-star position(s) while serving in the U.S. Air Force.
^ ^a ^b Served 35 years in the U.S. Air Force before being unilaterally transferred to the Space Force.
^ Thompson's effective date-of-rank is October 1, 2020, which is one day before he assumed the office of vice chief of space operations.
^ Served 29 years in the U.S. Air Force before being unilaterally transferred to the Space Force.
^ Served 30 years in the U.S. Air Force before being unilaterally transferred to the Space Force.
^ Served 31 years in the U.S. Air Force before being unilaterally transferred to the Space Force.
^ 10 USC 601, Positions of importance and responsibility: generals and lieutenant generals; admirals and vice admirals{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ 10 USC 525, Distribution of commissioned officers on active duty in general officer and flag officer grades{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

United States Space Force

Leadership

Oversight	House Armed Services Committee Strategic Forces subcommittee Senate Committee on Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee

Structure

Field commands	Space Operations Command Commander Space Systems Command Commander Space Training and Readiness Command Commander
Component Field Commands	United States Space Forces Central United States Space Forces Europe and Africa United States Space Forces Indo-Pacific United States Space Forces Korea United States Space Forces – Space
Deltas	Space Delta 1 Space Delta 2 Space Delta 3 Space Delta 4 Space Delta 5 Space Delta 6 Space Delta 7 Space Delta 8 Space Delta 9 Space Delta 10 Space Delta 11 Space Delta 12 Space Delta 13 Space Delta 15 Space Delta 18 Space Delta 21 Space Delta 23 Space Delta 26 Space Launch Delta 30 Space Launch Delta 45 PNT IMD (P) Space Base Delta 1 Space Base Delta 2 Space Base Delta 3
Squadrons	1st Delta Operations 319th Combat Training 328th Weapons 392d Combat Training 533rd Training 21st Operations Support 15th Space Surveillance 18th Space Defense 19th Space Defense 20th Space Surveillance 3rd Combat Training 4th EW 5th EW 16th EW 23rd EW 2nd Space Warning 3rd satellite Communications 5th Space Warning 6th Space Warning 7th Space Warning 10th Space Warning 11th Space Warning 12th Space Warning 13th Space Warning 55th Combat Training 21st Space Operations 22nd Space Operations 23rd Space Operations 62nd Cyberspace 63rd Cyberspace 64th Cyberspace 65th Cyberspace 68th Cyberspace 69th Cyberspace 645th Cyberspace 71st ISR 72nd ISR 73rd ISR 74th ISR 75th ISR 76th ISR 1st Space Operations 2nd Space Operations 3rd Space Operations 4th Space Operations 10th Space Operations 53rd Space Operations 527th Space Aggressor 1st Test and Evaluation 3rd Test and Evaluation 17th Test and Evaluation 25th Space Range 2nd Space Launch 5th Space Launch 1st Range Operations NSSI
Direct reporting units	Space Development Agency Space Rapid Capabilities Office Space Warfighting Analysis Center

Locations

Space Force Bases	Buckley Los Angeles Patrick Peterson Schriever Vandenberg
Space Bases	Pituffik (Greenland)
Space Force Stations	Cape Canaveral Cape Cod Cavalier Cheyenne Mountain Clear Kaena Point New Boston

Personnel
and training

History and
traditions

Former wings and deltas	21st Space Wing 50th Space Wing 460th Space Wing Space Training and Readiness Delta (Provisional)

This page was last edited on 12 January 2024, at 13:29