This is a list of active duty United States Space Force general officers. There are 30 active duty general officers in the U.S. Space Force: four generals, five lieutenant generals, seven major generals, and 13 brigadier generals. Among the 30, 22 of them serve in positions in the Space Force, while seven serve in joint positions. All of them transferred from the United States Air Force. Space Force general officers, like in other U.S. armed services, are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate.
List of generals
Portrait Name Date of rank Current position 1 Michael Guetlein 21 December 2023 Direct Reporting Program Manager, Office of Golden Dome for America 2 Stephen Whiting 10 January 2024 Commander, United States Space Command 3 Shawn Bratton 31 July 2025 Vice Chief of Space Operations 4 Douglas Schiess 3 September 2026 Chief of Space Operations
List of lieutenant generals
Portrait Name Date of rank Current position 1 Philip Garrant 2 August 2022 Commander, Space Systems Command 2 David N. Miller 9 January 2024 Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Strategy, Plans, Programs, and Requirements 3 Steven P. Whitney 30 October 2025 Director, Force Structure, Resources, and Assessment, Joint Staff 4 Gregory Gagnon 3 November 2025 Commander, U.S. Space Force Combat Forces Command 5 Dennis Bythewood 4 November 2025 Commander, United States Space Forces – Space andCombined Joint Space Force Component Commander, United States Space Command
List of major generals
Portrait Name Date of rank Current position 1 Christopher Povak 29 September 2022 Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office andCommander, Space Force Element to the National Reconnaissance Office 2 Stephen G. Purdy 1 December 2022 Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition 3 D. Jason Cothern 6 December 2023 Deputy Director and Program Executive for Ground-Based Weapon Systems, Missile Defense Agency 4 James E. Smith 21 June 2024 Commander, Space Training and Readiness Command 5 Anthony Mastalir 25 July 2025 Director of Global Space Operations, United States Space Command 6 Brian Sidari 3 November 2025 Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence 7 Robert Hutt 3 November 2025 Senior Military Assistant to the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
List of brigadier generals
Portrait Name Date of rank Current position 1 Kristin Panzenhagen 16 December 2023 Military Deputy, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration 2 Matthew Cantore 1 February 2024 Director of Staff 3 Brian Denaro 1 February 2024 Commander, United States Space Forces – Indo-Pacific 4 Shay Warakomski 7 June 2024 Vice Director for Joint Force Development, Joint Staff 5 Robert Schreiner 12 June 2024 Commander, United States Space Forces – Northern 6 Nick Hague 27 June 2025 Assistant Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations 7 Nikki Frankino 30 June 2025 Legislative Liasion of the United States Space Force 8 Casey Beard 30 June 2025 Deputy Commander, United States Space Force Combat Forces Command 9 Todd Benson 30 June 2025 Commander, United States Space Forces – Central 10 Robert W. Davis 18 July 2025 Deputy Director for Operations, Joint Staff 11 Christopher Fernengel 4 November 2025 Commander, United States Space Forces – Europe and Africa 12 Matthew Holston 4 November 2025 Director, Personnel Management Act Integration Office 13 Clifford Sulham ~September 2026 Deputy Director, Force Design and Analysis - 14 Eric Zarybnisky ~September 2026 Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Space Access
List of pending appointments Portrait Name Current position New assignment Status For Lieutenant General Major GeneralChristopher Povak Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office andCommander, Space Force Element to the National Reconnaissance Office Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations Nomination sent to the Senate30 July 2026 Major GeneralRobert Hutt Senior Military Assistant to the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense Nomination sent to the Senate30 July 2026 For Major General Brigadier GeneralMatthew Cantore Director of Staff Confirmed by the Senate30 July 2026 Brigadier GeneralBrian Denaro Commander, United States Space Forces – Indo-Pacific Confirmed by the Senate30 July 2026 Brigadier GeneralKristin Panzenhagen Military Deputy, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration Confirmed by the Senate30 July 2026 For Brigadier General ColonelMark Bigley Director, Plans and Programs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Plans, Programs, Requirements, and Analysis Confirmed by the Senate16 July 2026 ColonelRyan P. Frazier Acting Portfolio Acquisition Executive, Space-Based Sensing and Targeting Confirmed by the Senate16 July 2026 ColonelJared Hoffman Assistant Deputy Commander, Operations, Plans, Training, and Force Development, United States Space Force Combat Forces Command Confirmed by the Senate16 July 2026 ColonelJason Schramm Deputy Commander, Space Training and Readiness Command Confirmed by the Senate16 July 2026 ColonelPhillip Verroco Senior Executive Officer to the Chief of Space Operations Confirmed by the Senate16 July 2026
History Number of general officers
Before the establishment of the Space Force, the Space Force Planning Task Force considered two different scenarios or models for the number of general officers in the new service: the lean and demanding models. The lean Space Force model called for 41 general officers with three generals, six lieutenant generals, 12 major generals, and 20 brigadier generals. The demanding Space Force model, on the other hand, has 45 general officers with three generals, six lieutenant generals, 13 major generals, and 23 brigadier generals.
By August 2020, General John W. Raymond noted that there would only be 21 general officers in the Space Force. In 2022, this was codified by the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, specifying the number of statutory billets in each rank: two generals, five lieutenant generals, six major generals, and eight brigadier generals. It also required that a minimum of six Space Force general officers be assigned at joint duty assignments.
Asked by the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services whether the 21 general officer billets in the Space Force are sufficient, Lieutenant General B. Chance Saltzman, in his written statement in 2022, responded that it is not sustainable. He believes that it is not sufficient to sustain the two four-star posts in the service and effectively represent the Space Force in the Joint Staff and the unified combatant commands. He hopes to increase the number of general officers to 36: two generals, six lieutenant generals, 12 major generals, and 16 brigadier generals.
Transfers from the Air Force (2020–2021)
The Space Force was established by redesignating the United States Air Force's Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) as the United States Space Force on 20 December 2019. Thus, the very first general officers in the Space Force were general officers in the Air Force's space operations and space acquisitions career fields. Immediately after the establishment of the Space Force, then-AFSPC commander, General John W. Raymond, was appointed as the first chief of space operations. He then became the first member of the new service, and hence the very first general officer in the Space Force.
By July 2020, four U.S. Air Force major generals were nominated for transfer to the Space Force and promotion to lieutenant generals. On 14 August 2020, then-Major General B. Chance Saltzman transferred to the Space Force and was promoted to lieutenant general, becoming the service's lieutenant general and the first general officer promoted in the new service. Three days later, then-Major General Nina Armagno also transferred to the Space Force and was promoted to lieutenant general, becoming the service's first female general officer.
On 1 October 2020, then-U.S. Air Force lieutenant general David D. Thompson transferred into the Space Force and was promoted to general, becoming the first to hold the office of vice chief of space operations.
In April 2021, three U.S. Air Force major generals and six brigadier generals were nominated for transfer into the Space Force, all of them career space professionals working either space operations or space acquisitions. On May 7, 2021, Major General DeAnna Burt transferred to the Space Force, becoming the first major general of the service.
On 19 October 2021, U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Gregory Gagnon transferred into the Space Force after volunteering. A career intelligence and cyber officer, he is the first general officer of the service who is a non-career space professional, or not coming from either space operations or space acquisitions career fields.
First direct promotions and expansion (2021–present) The Space Force had transferred 17 general officers from the Air Force. By October 2021, after the transfers from the Air Force, the Space Force had 21 general officers: two generals, six lieutenant generals, three major generals, and 10 brigadier generals. This included the first officers promoted into general officer ranks since the creation of the service. In January 2021, four colonels were nominated for promotion to brigadier general, becoming the first Space Force general officers who were promoted directly as brigadier generals in the service.
In 2022, the number of major generals in the Space Force doubled from three to seven. Five colonels were nominated for promotion to brigadier general, bringing the total number of general officers to 24.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 increased the allowable number of Space Force general officers from 21 to 24, redistributing from the Air Force. It also codified five Space Force general officers on reserve duty.
Timeline
Historical firsts John W. Raymond, first general and first chief of space operations B. Chance Saltzman, first lieutenant general and the first general officer promoted into the Space Force Nina Armagno, first female general officer John E. Shaw, first general officer with a joint duty assignment DeAnna Burt, first major general Gregory Gagnon, first general officer from a non-space professional career field Dennis Bythewood, first existing Space Force officer promoted to general officer William Liquori, first Space Force general officer to retire Shawn Bratton, first general officer to have come from the Air National Guard Devin Pepper, first prior-enlisted general officer Nick Hague, first astronaut general officer
See also List of United States Space Force four-star generals List of United States Space Force lieutenant generals
References Notes
Sources