Stephen Whiting

Whiting touring Vice President Mike Pence to the Combined Space Operations Center, July 2019.

Whiting was commissioned into the United States Air Force as a second lieutenant on May 31, 1989, as a distinguished graduate from the United States Air Force Academy. A year later, he finished undergraduate space training at 14th Student Squadron at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado, as the top graduate and distinguished graduate. From 1990 to 1993, he served on his first operational assignment at the 6th Space Warning Squadron at Cape Cod Air Force Station in Massachusetts as a crew commander, deputy chief of training, and chief of standardization and evaluation.[5]

As a captain, Whiting served as a radar systems officer at the 21st Operations Support Squadron in Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado from 1993 to 1994. After that, he served a year as the executive officer for the 21st Operations Group. In 1995, he was reassigned to Washington, D.C. as an Air Force intern while he studied at the George Washington University. From 1997 to 1999, he was stationed at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado as UHF Follow-On satellite satellite vehicle operator, crew commander, and operations flight commander for the 3rd Space Operations Squadron.[5]

Whiting talks to Col Grant during a tour at Schriever Air Force Base.

Whiting was promoted to major on July 1, 1999. At this time, he was working as an operations officer for the 22nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base. From 2000 to 2002, he studied at the Air Command and Staff College and School of Advanced Air and Space Studies at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. After studying, he was assigned as a regional policy officer at the United States Space Command, during which time the combatant command was disestablished, thereby he continuing this role at United States Strategic Command West. After that assignment, he was selected to serve as special assistant to the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, Admiral James O. Ellis, for a year.[5]

In July 2004, Whiting took command of the 13th Space Warning Squadron at Clear Air Force Station, Alaska. He relinquished command a year later when he was selected as an Air Force fellow at the RAND Corporation. From June 2006 to June 2008, he served as commander of the 614th Air and Space Operations Center and director of the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. After his second command tour, he was selected as a Chief of Staff U.S. Air Force Fellow assigned at the Chief of Naval Operations' Strategic Studies Group in Newport, Rhode Island.[5]

From August 2009 to June 2011, Whiting served as commander of the 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base. After that, he served as a military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, for whom he also served as senior military assistant.[5]

Retired Col Sutton, Col Smith, Maj Gen Whiting, and Brig Gen Burt during the Cyber Defense Correlation Cell-Space ribbon cutting ceremony in October 2019.

On July 8, 2013, Whiting was promoted to brigadier general and assigned as vice commander of the Air Force Warfare Center. Two years later, he was selected to lead Air Force Space Command's (AFSPC) Space Enterprise Vision Team. After that, he was assigned as director of integrated air, space, and cyberspace and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance of AFSPC. In 2017, he also served as the lead for the Joint Force Space Component Command (JFSCC) Integration Team.[5]

In December 2017, Whiting took command of the Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF) and became deputy commander of JFSCC. In August 2019, JFSCC was inactivated and the U.S. Space Command was reestablished. Consequently, the Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC) was stood up and he took command of the new unit. Three months later, in November 2019, he relinquished command of CFSCC and 14AF to Major General John E. Shaw and became deputy commander of AFSPC.[5]

On December 20, 2019, the United States Space Force was established and AFSPC was temporarily designated as Headquarters, United States Space Force. Whiting thus continued to serve as deputy commander of Headquarters, United States Space Force. In August 2020, he was one of the first general officers nominated to transfer to the Space Force and promoted to general. He was also selected to serve as the first commander of Space Operations Command (SpOC).[6] On October 21, 2020, SpOC was established and Whiting became its first commander.[7] In July 2023, Whiting was nominated for promotion to general and appointment as commander of the United States Space Command.[8][9]