Thomas L. James () is a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

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 serves as the deputy commander of the United States Space Command. He previously served as the acting commander of

Combined Joint Task Force–Space Operations The Combined Joint Task Force–Space Operations (CJTF–SO) is a subordinate command to the United States Space Command. It was activated on 15 November 2022. Structure Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC), Vandenberg Space Force B ...

. He is the first Army space operations officer to reach the rank of major general.

Military career

James first enlisted in the

Mississippi National Guard The Mississippi National Guard (MSNG), commonly known as the Mississippi Guard, is both a Mississippi state and a federal government organization, part of the United States National Guard. It is part of the Mississippi Military Department, a stat ...

in 1983, where he was assigned in medical and special forces units. After obtaining a degree, he was commissioned into the United States Army in 1990 as an

army aviator An army aviation unit is an aviation-related unit of a nation's army, sometimes described as an air corps. These units are generally separate from a nation's dedicated air force, and usually comprise helicopters and light support fixed-wing airc ...

. On July 15, 2014, James took command of the

1st Space Brigade The 1st Space Brigade is a United States Army unit. Assigned to the United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command, it is responsible for providing space combat power support to Army units. Activated in 2005 as a TOE unit after being provi ...

. After this command tour, he was assigned as the director of space policy implementation of Office of the Under Secretary for Policy. James served as deputy commander of the

Joint Functional Component Command for Space United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and grea ...

. While in this position, he was promoted to brigadier general on November 14, 2017. After a 2017 reorganization, he then served as the director of operations, plans, and exercises of the Joint Force Space Component Command. With the creation of the

United States Space Command United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and grea ...

in August 2019, James became the director of operations while dual-hatted as the first commander of the newly-established Joint Task Force–Space Defense (JTF-SD). After almost two years, he was nominated for promotion to major general. In 2021, he released his vision for the unit. He got promoted on July 29, 2021, making him the first Army space operations officer to achieve the rank of major general. James relinquished command of JTF-SD on November 4, 2022. He thereafter was assigned as deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Space Operations, a planned subordinate command of U.S. Space Command. In July 2023, James was nominated for promotion to lieutenant general with assignment as the deputy commander of

Dates of promotion

References

Living people Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the Gulf War United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-army-bio-stub