Gen. John William Raymond '90

General Raymond assumed the duties as the first Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force, on December 20, 2019.  The Force is responsible for providing resilient, defendable and affordable space capabilities for the nation and the joint force.  It is the duty of the Force to protect the interests of the U.S. in space; deter aggression in, from and to space; and conduct prompt and sustained space operations.  As Chief, Gen. Raymond leads the organizing, training, equipping and maintaining of mission-ready space forces and capabilities for U.S. Space Command and other combatant commands around the world.  The Chief of Space Operations performs their duties under the authority of the Secretary of the Air Force.  U.S. Space Command is one of 11 commands under the DoD.  Gen. Raymond was commissioned through the ROTC program at Clemson University in 1984.  He has commanded many units - in the U.K., California and Colorado to name a few.  He deployed to SW Asia as Director of Space Forces to support operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.  He has been awarded many medals and awards in his career.