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    HomeAbout UsBiographiesDisplay      DenkerDec2014Engage On
        
        DenkerDec2014Major General STEPHEN T. DENKERMaj. Gen. Stephen T. Denker is the Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Chantilly, Virginia. His responsibilities include assisting the Director and Principal Deputy Director in managing the strategic and tactical operations of the NRO. Also, as the Commander, Air Force Element, he manages all Air Force personnel and resources assigned to the NRO and serves as the senior adviser to the NRO Director on all military matters.
Maj. Gen. Denker entered the Air Force in 1986 after graduating from the University of Minnesota and receiving a commission as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program.  He began his career as a spacecraft engineer at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, followed by acquisition assignments with the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, now known as the Missile Defense Agency, and the Special Programs organization at the Pentagon.  General Denker’s operations experience includes developmental test and evaluation activities and specialized operations on a variety of space and ground systems. 
He has commanded at the Squadron, Group and Wing level and has served as executive officer, deputy division chief on the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) staff and Commandant, Air Command and Staff College and Vice Commander, Spaatz Center for Officer Education, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.
Prior to his current assignment, he served as the Director of Integrated Air, Space, Cyberspace and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Operations, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.**EDUCATION** 
1985 Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics degree, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 
1988 Masters of Science degree in Systems Management, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
1991 Distinguished graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 
1995 Advanced Program Managers Course, Defense Systems Management College, Fort Belvoir, Va. 
1996 Undergraduate Space and Missile Training, Vandenberg AFB, Calif. 
1997 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 
2004 Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. 
2009 Senior Executive Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Mass. 
2009 U.S. Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of Virginia Darden School, Charlottesville 
2012 Enterprise Perspective Seminar, Capitol Hill Club, Washington, D.C. 
2013 Capstone General and Flag Officer Course in Joint and Combined Studies, National Defense University, Washington, D.C. 
2014 General and Flag Officer Systems Acquisition Management Course, Fort Belvoir, Va. **ASSIGNMENTS**
1. March 1986–June 1991, Kinetic Energy Weapons Spacecraft Engineer, Flight Test Project Officer and Suborbital Flight Test Manager, Kinetic Energy Weapons System Program Office, Los Angeles AFB, Calif. 
2. July 1991–July 1993, Chief, Suborbital Flight Testing, Brilliant Pebbles Task Force, Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 
3. August 1993–July 1995, Executive Officer and Deputy Chief, Special Programs Operations Division, Electronics and Special Programs (SAF/AQL), Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 
4. August 1995–October 1995, Student, Undergraduate Space and Missile Training, Vandenberg AFB, Calif. 5. November 1995 – July 1997, Flight Commander and Squadron Operations Officer, Office of Special Projects, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Space), Onizuka AFB, Calif. 
6. August 1997–June 1998, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 
7. July 1998–May 2001, Director of Operations and Commander, Advanced Systems Combined Task Force 
8. June 2001–May 2002, Deputy Director, Mission Operations Group, Office of Space Applications, Under Secretary of the Air Force, Buckley AFB, Colo. 
9. June 2002–June 2003, Commander, Space Operations Group, Office of Space Applications, Under Secretary of the Air Force, Buckley AFB, Colo. 
10. August 2003–August 2004, Student, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Fort Leslie J. McNair, Washington, D.C. 
11. August 2004–March 2006, Commander, 84th Specialized Management Squadron, Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB, Utah 
12. March 2006–July 2009, Commander, Air Force Element; Chief, Mission Engineering, RAF Menwith Hill, England
13. July 2009–January 2011, Commander, Space Operations Wing and Commander, Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado (ADF-C), Buckley AFB, Colo. 
14. January 2011–August 2012, Commandant, Air Command and Staff College and Vice Commander, Spaatz Center for Officer Education, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 
15. August 2012–August 2014, Director of Strategic Plans, Programs and Analyses, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 
16. August 2014–November 2015, Director of Integrated Air, Space, Cyberspace and ISR Operations, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo. 
17. November 2015–August 2018, Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Va.**SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS**
July 2009–January 2011, Commander, Aerospace Data Facility Colorado (ADF-C), Buckley AFB, Colo., as a colonel **MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS**
Distinguished Service Medal 
Defense Superior Service Medal 
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster 
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster 
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters 
Joint Service Commendation Medal 
Air Force Commendation Medal 
Joint Service Achievement Medal 
Air Force Achievement Medal 
National Intelligence Exceptional Achievement Medal 
National Reconnaissance Office Distinguished Service Medal 
National Reconnaissance Office Superior Service Medal 
National Security Agency Bronze Medallion 
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Medallion for Excellence **EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION**
Second Lieutenant Jan. 2, 1986 
First Lieutenant Jan. 25, 1988 
Captain Jan. 25, 1990 
Major Sept. 1, 1997 
Lieutenant Colonel May 1, 2001 
Colonel Aug. 1, 2005 
Brigadier General June 7, 2011 
Major General Aug. 29, 2014 
(Current as of May 2016)
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