Thomas L. James

Thomas L. James (c. 1968) is a United States Army major general who serves as the acting commander of Combined Joint Task Force–Space Operations. He previously served as the first commander of Joint Task Force–Space Defense from 2019 to 2022. He is the first Army space operations officer to reach the rank of major general.

This article is about the U.S. Army general. For others of the same name, see Thomas James.
Thomas L. James
Official portrait, 2021
Bornc. 1968 (age 54–55)
AllegianceUnited States
BranchUnited States Army
Years of service1983–present
RankMajor General
Commands heldJoint Task Force–Space Defense
1st Space Brigade
1st Space Battalion
B Company, 2nd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 4th Aviation Brigade
Battles/warsGulf War
War in Afghanistan
Iraq War
AwardsLegion of Merit (2)
Bronze Star Medal (2)

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.[1]

On July 15, 2014, James took command of the 1st Space Brigade.[2] After this command tour, he was assigned as the director of space policy implementation of Office of the Under Secretary for Policy.[1]

James served as deputy commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Space. While in this position, he was promoted to brigadier general on November 14, 2017.[3][4] After a 2017 reorganization, he then served as the director of operations, plans, and exercises of the Joint Force Space Component Command.[5]

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).[6] After almost two years, he was nominated for promotion to major general.[7] In 2021, he released his vision for the unit. [8] He got promoted on July 29, 2021, making him the first Army space operations officer to achieve the rank of major general.[9]

James relinquished command of JTF-SD on November 4, 2022.[10] He thereafter was assigned as deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Space Operations, a planned subordinate command of U.S. Space Command.[1]

In July 2023, James was nominated for promotion to lieutenant general with assignment as the deputy commander of United States Space Command.[11][12]

Dates of promotion
RankDate[5]
Brigadier generalNovember 2, 2017
Major generalJuly 29, 2021

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas L. James.
  1. "Brigadier General Thomas L. James". www.schriever.spaceforce.mil.
  2. "1st Space Brigade welcomes new commander". www.army.mil.
  3. "A star, more than 30 years in the making".
  4. "Brig. Gen. Thomas James Promotion". DVIDS.
  5. "Major General Thomas L. James (USA)". GOMO. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  6. "Formal Recognition of Joint Task Force-Space Defense Expands US Space Command's Protect and Defend Mission". Schriever Air Force Base.
  7. "PN815 — Army, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". U.S. Congress. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  8. "Commander Releases JTF-SD Vision".
  9. "JTF-SD commander named Army's first Space Operations 2-star".
  10. "JTF-SD welcomes its second commander".
  11. "PN820 — Maj. Gen. Thomas L. James — Army, 118th Congress (2023-2024)". U.S. Congress. 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  12. Senate Session, Part 3. C-SPAN (video). 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2023-07-27.


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