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Steven P. Whitney

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steven P. Whitney
Official portrait, 2023
BornEdina, Minnesota, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States
Branch
Years of service
1993–2021 (Air Force)
  • 2021–present (Space Force)
RankMajor General
Commands
Production Corps, SSC
Awards
Alma mater

Steven P. Whitney is a United States Space Force major general who serves as the director of staff of the United States Space Force. He previously served as the military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration from 2021 to 2023.[1]

Whitney graduated in 1992 from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering. He entered the United States Air Force as a distinguished graduate of the university's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He is a career space acquisitions officer who commanded the National Reconnaissance Office's Enterprise Operations Squadron. He has experience working on Global Positioning System (GPS) acquisition, serving as director of the Global Positioning Systems Directorate and senior materiel leader for the GPS User Equipment Division. He has also served as program executive officer for space production at the Space and Missile Systems Center.[2][3][1]

In May 2021, he transferred into the Space Force and he was promoted to major general a year later. As director of staff, he is responsible for synchronizing policy, plans, positions, procedures, and cross-functional issues for the Space Force's headquarters staff. He is the first two-star director general of the Space Force after the position was downgraded from a three-star billet.[1]

Education

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  • 1992 Bachelors of Electrical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
  • 1997 Squadron Officer School, Distinguished Graduate, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
  • 2000 Master of Arts, Administrative Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
  • 2004 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
  • 2005 Master of Science, Systems Engineering, Distinguished Graduate, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
  • 2007 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
  • 2011 Master of Science, National Security Strategy, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
  • 2013 Program Managers Course, Defense Acquisition University, Fort Belvoir, Va.
  • 2014 Executive Program Managers Course, Defense Acquisition University, Fort Belvoir, Va.

Military career

[edit]
Whitney in 2017

In September 2022, Whitney was nominated for promotion to major general.[4]

Assignments

[edit]
Whitney writes a message on the “thermal space blanket” for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency–5 (AEHF-5) satellite, 2019

1. April 1993–July 1996, Defense Support Program & Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Crew Commander and Chief, DSP Spacecraft Engineering; 1st Space Operations Squadron, Schriever Air Force Base, Colo.
2. July 1996–June 1998, Chief, Commanders Action Group and FDS Operations Manager; Space-Based Infrared System Program Office, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
3. June 1998–June 2000, Air Force Intern, Directorate of Space and Nuclear Deterrence, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force and Force Management Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
4. June 2000–May 2004, Senior Flight Commander; Chief, Production Division and director of Engineering, Air Force Communications Support Facility, White Sands Missile Range, Las Cruces, N.M.
5. May 2004–June 2005, Student, Air Force Institute of Technology; Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
6. June 2005–May 2008, MILSATCOM Program Element Monitor and Chief, Congressional & Media Affairs, Space Acquisition Directorate, Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
7. June 2008–July 2010, Commander, Enterprise Operations Squadron, Mission Operations Directorate, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Va.
8. August 2010–June 2011, Student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
9. June 2011–July 2013, Chief, Space/C4 Branch and Space Lead, Joint Chiefs of Staff (J8), the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
10. July 2013–July 2015, Senior Materiel Leader, Global Positioning System User Equipment Division, Global Positioning Systems Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
11. July 2015–June 2019, Director, Global Positioning Systems Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
12. October 2018–June 2019, Program Executive Officer for Space Production, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
13. July 2019–July 2020, Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
14. August 2020–August 2021, Director, Space Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
15. August 2021–June 2023, Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
16. July 2023–present, Director of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.

Awards and decorations

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Whitney is the recipient of the following awards:[1]

Command Space Operations Badge
Air Force Master Acquisition and Financial Management Badge
Office of the Secretary of Defense Badge
Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
Space Staff Badge
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 crimson ribbon with a pair of width-2 white stripes on the edges
Legion of Merit with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 crimson ribbon with two width-8 white stripes at distance 4 from the edges.
Meritorious Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Joint Meritorious Unit Award with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with three bronze oak leaf clusters
Bronze star
Width=44 scarlet ribbon with a central width-4 golden yellow stripe, flanked by pairs of width-1 scarlet, white, Old Glory blue, and white stripes
National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Armed Forces Service Medal[citation needed]
Humanitarian Service Medal
Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal
Air and Space Campaign Medal
Silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and one bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Training Ribbon

Dates of promotions

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Rank Branch Date
Second Lieutenant Air Force February 17, 1993
First Lieutenant February 17, 1995
Captain February 17, 1997
Major June 1, 2003
Lieutenant Colonel September 1, 2007
Colonel June 1, 2012
Brigadier General April 2, 2019
Brigadier General Space Force May 4, 2021
Major General September 29, 2022

Writings

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  • With Theresa A. Jamison, Brice T. Niska, and Phillip A. Layman (June 2005). Evaluation of Enterprise Architecture Interoperability (PDF) (M.S.). Air Force Institute of Technology. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2021.{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Major General Steven P. Whitney". United States Space Force. July 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  2. ^ "Space Systems Command - SSC on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022.[user-generated source]
  3. ^ "Directions 2016: GPS – Dedicated to Excellence". GPS World. December 15, 2015.
  4. ^ "PN2514 – Space Force, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". United States Congress. September 6, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Military offices
Preceded by Director of the Global Positioning Systems Directorate
2015–2019
Directorate inactivated
New office Program Executive Officer for Space Production of the Space and Missile Systems Center
2018–2019
Succeeded by
New office Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment
2019–2020
Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of Space Programs of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition
2020–2021
Succeeded by
Preceded by Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration
Acting

2021–2022
Succeeded by
New office Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration
2021–2023
Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of Staff of the United States Space Force
2023–present
Incumbent