Lt. Gen. John E. Shaw is the Deputy Commander, U.S. Space Command. U.S. Space Command is the Unified Combatant Command responsible for conducting operations in, from, and to space to deter conflict, and if necessary, defeat aggression, deliver space combat power for the Joint/Combined force, and defend U.S. vital interests with allies and partners.
Lt. Gen. Shaw entered the Air Force in 1990 as a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy with a degree in astronautical engineering and a minor in Russian language. He has served in a variety of air and space operations and staff positions, including operations tours in the 50th Space Wing, the National Reconnaissance Office, the 32nd Air Operations Group and the Space Warfare Center. His operational commands have included the 4th Space Operations Squadron, the 50th Operations Group and the 21st Space Wing. He also served at U.S. Strategic Command as Director of the Commander's Action Group and as Deputy Director for Operations, and in the Pentagon as an Air Force intern, as Deputy Chief of Space Strategy and Integration, a speechwriter and as a senior space policy advisor.
Prior to his current position, Lt. Gen. Shaw was dual hatted as the Commander, Combined Forces Space Component Command, U.S. Space Command, and Deputy Commander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force, Vandenberg SFB, California. He also served as the Deputy Commander of Air Force Space Command, United States Air Force.
EDUCATION
1990 Bachelor of Science, Astronautical Engineering, minor, Russian Language, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1991 Master of Science, Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Washington, Seattle
1995 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1998 Master of Arts, Organizational Management, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
2004 Master of Arts, Military Operational Arts and Sciences, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2008 Master of Science, National Security Strategy, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2010 Senior Executive Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, Mass.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1990–August 1991, Student, University of Washington, Seattle
2. September 1991–September 1994, Deputy Crew Commander and Spacecraft Systems Engineer, 1st Space Operations Squadron, Falcon Air Force Base, Colo.
3. October 1994–July 1996, Flight Commander and Chief of Mission Analysis, Mission Control Complex IX, Operating Division 4, Onizuka Air Station, Calif.
4. August 1996–May 1998, Air Force Intern, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Space, and Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
5. June 1998–December 1999, Chief, Special Information Warfare Plans, 32nd Air Operations Group, Headquarters
U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
6. April 1999–June 1999 (Deployed), Chief, Special Technical Operations, Joint Task Force Noble Anvil, Operation Allied Force, Headquarters NATO Armed Forces South, Naples
7. January 2000–March 2001, Executive Officer, Director of Aerospace Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany
8. April 2001–March 2002, Deputy Chief, Strategy Branch, Directorate for Space Operations and Integration,
Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
9. April 2002–July 2003, Speechwriter, Secretary of the Air Force & Chief of Staff of the Air Force Executive Action Group, Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
10. August 2003–May 2004, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
11. June 2004–May 2005, Operations Officer, 25th Space Control Tactics Squadron, Space Warfare Center, Schriever AFB, Colo.
12. June 2005–June 2007, Commander, 4th Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB, Colo.
13. July 2007–June 2008, Student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
14. July 2008–June 2010, Director, Commander's Action Group, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb.
15. July 2010–July 2012, Commander, 50th Operations Group, Schriever AFB, Colo.
16. August 2012–July 2013, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Space Policy); Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
17. July 2013–June 2015, Commander, 21st Space Wing, Peterson AFB, Colo.
18. June 2015–June 2017, Deputy Director, Global Operations Directorate, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb.
19. June 2017–August 2018, Director of Strategic Plans, Programs, Requirements and Analysis, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.
20. August 2018–November 2019, Deputy Commander, Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.
21. November 2019–December 2019, Commander, Combined Force Space Component Command, U.S. Space Command; and Commander, 14th Air Force, Air Force Space Command, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
22. December 2019–October 2020, Commander, Combined Force Space Component Command, U.S. Space Command, and Commander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
23. October 2020–November 2020, Commander, Combined Force Space Component Command, U.S. Space Command, and Deputy Commander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
24. November 2020–Present, Deputy Commander, U.S. Space Command, Peterson SFB, Colo.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 1999–June 1999 (Deployed), Chief, Special Technical Operations, Joint Task Force Noble Anvil, Operation Allied Force, Headquarters NATO Armed Forces South, Naples, as a captain
2. July 2008–June 2010, Director, Commander's Action Group, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., as a colonel
3. August 2012–July 2013, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Space Policy); Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a colonel
4. June 2015–June 2017, Deputy Director, Global Operations Directorate, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb., as a brigadier general
5. November 2019–November 2020, Commander, Combined Force Space Component Command, U.S. Space Command, Vandenberg AFB, Calif., as a major general
6. November 2020-Present, Deputy Commander, U. S. Space Command, Peterson SFB, Colo., as a lieutenant general.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Kosovo Campaign Ribbon with campaign service star
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
General Jerome O’Malley Distinguished Space Leadership Award
Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics National Reconnaissance Office Gold Medal
National Finalist, White House Fellow Program
Royal Air Force Historical Society & U.S. Air Force Historical Foundation "Two Air Forces" Award for Writing (1998)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
“Sailing the New Wine-Dark Sea: Space as a Military Area of Responsibility,” with Maj. Jean Purgason and Capt. Amy Soileau, Aether (Maxwell AFB, Ala.: Air University Press, Spring 2022)
"Guarding the High Ocean: Towards a New National-Security Space Strategy through an Analysis of U.S. Maritime Strategy," Air & Space Power Journal (Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., Spring 2009)
"On Cossacks, Subs, and SAMs: Defeating Challenges to U.S. Space Superiority," High Frontier Journal (Peterson AFB, Colo., Winter 2005)
"Whither Space Power? Forging a Strategy for the New Century," with Brig. Gen. Simon P. Worden; (Monograph, Maxwell AFB, Ala.: Air University Press, 2002)
"The Influence of Space Power Upon History: 1944-1998," Air Power History Journal (Lexington, Va.: Air Force Historical Foundation, Winter 1999)
"Optimal Control Designs for an Inverted Cart-Pendulum Array," Formal Thesis; University of Washington, Seattle, 1991
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 30, 1990
First Lieutenant May 30, 1992
Captain May 30, 1994
Major May 1, 2001
Lieutenant Colonel May 1, 2005
Colonel Oct. 1, 2008
Brigadier General June 5, 2015
Major General Aug. 17, 2018
Lieutenant General Nov. 23, 2020
(Current as of Mar 2022)