Lieutenant General JT Thompson
Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, U.S. Space Force
John F. “JT” Thompson earned an undergraduate degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He obtained a Master of Science in industrial engineering from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, and has engaged in numerous educational opportunities with the United States Air Force.
He has served in a variety of scientific acquisition and logistics-oriented capacities, including staff assignments at Air Force Systems Command, Air Force Material Command, and in the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. Prior to his current position, Thompson was Commander, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
Since May 2017, he has been Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, California, now a part of the Space Force.
In the News…
The Pentagon is fast-tracking space weapons and technologies with a sense of urgency in response to concerns the U.S. may be falling behind Russia and China when it comes to destroying satellites, jamming networks, and introducing new weapons into areas beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.
“We need to field operationally relevant space capabilities faster than our adversaries. We have to out compete, out innovate, and out hustle,” Lieutenant General JT Thompson, Commander of the Space and Missile Center of the Space Command said. “China’s strategic support force with their EW [electronic warfare] and cyber force has begun training specialized units with ASAT [anti-satellite] weapons.”
He explained that the thrust of the effort involves not only prioritizing innovation but also revamping elements of the weapons acquisition and development process. He described it as “a journey to be more enterprise focused to develop new partnerships and more innovation into our ecosystem and change our culture from risk aversion to taking smart risks.”
