Thomas L. James
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy datesTemplate:Use American English Template:About Template:Infobox military person Thomas L. James (Template:Circa) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the deputy commander of the United States Space Command. He previously served as the acting commander of Combined Joint Task Force–Space Operations. 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 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.<ref name=bio>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 15 July 2014, James took command of the 1st Space Brigade.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After this command tour, he was assigned as the director of space policy implementation of Office of the Under Secretary for Policy.<ref name=bio/>
James served as deputy commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Space. While in this position, he was promoted to brigadier general on 14 November 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After a 2017 reorganization, he then served as the director of operations, plans, and exercises of the Joint Force Space Component Command.<ref name=GOMO>Template:Cite web</ref>
With the creation of the United States Space Command 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).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After almost two years, he was nominated for promotion to major general.<ref name="PN815 — Army">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2021, he released his vision for the unit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He got promoted on 29 July 2021, making him the first Army space operations officer to achieve the rank of major general.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
James relinquished command of JTF-SD on 4 November 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He thereafter was assigned as deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Space Operations, a planned subordinate command of U.S. Space Command.<ref name=bio/>
In July 2023, James was nominated for promotion to lieutenant general with assignment as the deputy commander of United States Space Command.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="cspan">Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Dates of promotion
| Rank | Date<ref name=GOMO/> |
|---|---|
| Template:Dodseal Brigadier general | 2 November 2017 |
| Template:Dodseal Major general | 29 July 2021 |
| Template:Dodseal Lieutenant general | 5 December 2023 |
References
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