# Stephen Whiting

Stephen Newman Whiting (born 14 September 1967) is a United States Space Force general who serves as the commander of the United States Space Command. He previously served as the first commander of Space Operations Command from 2020 to 2024.
Whiting entered the United States Air Force in 1989 as a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He is a space operations officer, commanding the 13th Space Warning Squadron, the 614th Air and Space Operations Center and Joint Space Operations Center, the 21st Space Wing, and the Combined Force Space Component Command and Fourteenth Air Force. He has also served staff assignments at the Air Force headquarters, United States Space Command, United States Strategic Command, the Chief of Naval Operations’ Strategic Studies Group, the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Air Force Space Command. Whiting transferred to the Space Force in 2020.
Whiting transferred to the Space Force in 2020 and became the first commander of Space Operations Command. In 2024, he was promoted to general and took command of the U.S. Space Command.

## Early life and education

Whiting was born on 14 September 1967, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. He studied at Ocean Springs High School, where he was a class officer and member of the soccer team that won four state championships.
In 1989, Whiting received a B.A. degree in aeronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy as a distinguished graduate. He then received an M.A. in administrative sciences (organizational management) in 1997 from the George Washington University. He also has M.A. degrees in military operational arts and sciences from the Air Command and Staff College and airpower strategy from the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. He has also attended the Senior Executives in National and International Security program of the Harvard Kennedy School in 2017. He has also studied in the Squadron Officer School and Joint Forces Staff College as part of his professional military education.

## Military career
### Air Force

Whiting was commissioned into the United States Air Force as a second lieutenant on 31 May 1989, as a distinguished graduate from the United States Air Force Academy. First assigned to UPT Columbus AFB MS. (14th Flying training squadron), failed out in Nov 89. He was then reassigned to Lowry AFB CO. A year later, he finished undergraduate space training 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.
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.
Whiting was promoted to major on 1 July 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.
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.
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.
On 8 July 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.
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.

### Space Force

On 20 December 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). On 21 October 2020, SpOC was established and Whiting became its first commander.
In July 2023, Whiting was nominated for promotion to general and appointment as commander of the United States Space Command. He was confirmed on 19 December 2023. On 10 January 2024, he took command of the United States Space Command from General James H. Dickinson. In February 2024, he released his strategic vision as commander of the combatant command.
Whiting is notable for having fired Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Lohmeier, as a result of Lohmeier’s criticism of rampant Marxism and DEI programs in the military. Lohmeier was later nominated to become Undersecretary of the Air Force by President Donald Trump. It is unclear whether President Trump intends to remove Whiting from his post as part of Trump’s crackdown on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in the government.

## Personal life

Whiting is the son of late Mr. and Mrs. Larry Whiting. His father was a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. He married Tammy Lynn Preslar on 1 June 1989.

## Awards and decorations

Whiting is the recipient of the following awards:
* Command Space Operations Badge
* Basic Cyberspace Operator Badge
* Office of the Secretary of Defense Badge
* United States Space Command Badge
* Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
* Defense Superior Service Medal
* Legion of Merit with two bronze oak leaf cluster
* Defense Meritorious Service Medal
* Meritorious Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
* Air Force Commendation Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
* Air Force Achievement Medal
* Joint Meritorious Unit Award
* Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with four bronze oak leaf clusters
* Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with one bronze oak leaf cluster
* Combat Readiness Medal
* National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
* Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
* Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon
* Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters
* Air Force Training Ribbon
* French National Order of Merit (Knight)

## Dates of promotion

| Rank | Branch | Date |
| Second Lieutenant | Air Force | 31 May 1989 |
| First Lieutenant | Air Force | 31 May 1991 |
| Captain | Air Force | 31 May 1993 |
| Major | Air Force | 1 July 1999 |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Air Force | 1 March 2002 |
| Colonel | Air Force | 1 March 2006 |
| Brigadier General | Air Force | 8 July 2013 |
| Major General | Air Force | 2 May 2017 |
| Lieutenant General | Space Force | 21 October 2020 |
| General | Space Force | 10 January 2024 |

## Writings

* Whiting, Stephen N. (2003). "Space and Diplomacy: A New Tool for Leverage". Astropolitics. 1 (1): 54–77. Bibcode:2003AstPo...1...54W. doi:10.1080/1477-760391832516. S2CID 143339687.
* Policy, Influence, and Diplomacy: Space as a National Power Element (PDF) (M.S.). School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. June 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 November 2021.