Gregory J. Gagnon (born c. 1972) is a United States Space Force major general who serves as the deputy chief of space operations for intelligence. He previously served as the director of intelligence of the United States Space Command. A career intelligence officer, he is the first general officer in the Space Force from a non-space professional career field.[1][2][3]

Gregory Gagnon
Official portrait, 2024
Bornc. 1972 (age 51–52)
AllegianceUnited States
Branch
Years of service
1994–2021 (Air Force)
  • 2021–present (Space Force)
RankMajor General
Commands
Awards
Alma mater

Gagnon entered the United States Air Force in 1994 after graduating from Saint Michael's College in Vermont. He has extensive intelligence and cyberspace operations experience, commanding the Texas Cryptologic Center, 67th Cyberspace Operations Group, 495th Expeditionary Intelligence Squadron, and 94th Intelligence Squadron. He also had assignments in Afghanistan and South Korea.

In 2021, Gagnon transferred from the Air Force to the Space Force. He is the first general officer in the Space Force from the intelligence career field, and the first one to not have come from the space operations or space acquisitions career field. As the deputy chief of space operations for intelligence, he serves as the chief of the Space Force's service cryptologic component.

Education

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  • 1994 Bachelor of Arts, Economics, Saint Michael's College, Winooski, Vt.
  • 1999 Master of Science, Defense Analysis in Information Operations, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.
  • 2000 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
  • 2006 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
  • 2011 Master of National Security Strategy, National War College, Washington, D.C.
  • 2016 Enterprise Perspective Seminar, Alan L. Freed Associates, Capitol Hill Club, Washington, D.C.
  • 2021 Enterprise Leadership Program, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina[4]

Military career

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Gagnon presents a speech during the basic training graduation, 2018

In September 2021, Gagnon was nominated for transfer from the United States Air Force into the Space Force.[5] In October 2021, he transferred to the Space Force.[6] In September 2022, he was nominated for promotion to major general.[7]

Assignments

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Gagnon transferred from to the Space Force in October 2021, the first general officer from a non-space professional career field
  1. November 1994 – July 1995, Student, Intelligence Training, 316th Student Training Squadron, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas
  2. August 1995 – August 1996, Assistant Chief of Targets, 8th Operations Support Squadron, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea
  3. August 1996 – May 1998, Mission Operations Commander, 13th Intelligence Squadron, Beale AFB, Calif.
  4. June 1998 – December 1999, Student, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.
  5. January 2000 – March 2002, Instructor, Air Force Special Operations School, Hurlburt AFB, Fla.
  6. March 2002 – December 2003, Staff Officer, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Hickam AFB, Hawaii
  7. January 2004 – July 2005, Flight Commander, Intel Operations and Missile Operations Center, PACAF Air Intelligence Squadron, Hickam AFB, Hawaii
  8. July 2005 – June 2006, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
  9. June 2006 – March 2008, Director of Operations, 607th AIS, Osan AB, South Korea
  10. March 2008 – July 2010, Commander, 94th Intelligence Squadron, Fort George G. Meade, Md.
  11. July 2010 – June 2011, Student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
  12. August 2011 – July 2012, Commander, 495th Expeditionary Intelligence Squadron, Kandahar, Afghanistan
  13. August 2012 – July 2014, Division Chief, Analysis and Intelligence Plans, Strategic Joint Intelligence Operations Center, Offutt AFB, Neb.
  14. July 2014 – July 2016, Commander, 67 Cyberspace Operations Group, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
  15. July 2016 – July 2018, Director, Commander's Action Group, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.
  16. July 2018 – July 2019, Commander, National Security Agency in Texas, San Antonio
  17. July 2019 – September 2020, Director of Intelligence, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
  18. September 2020 – July 2022, Director of Intelligence, U.S. Space Command, Schriever AFB, Colo.
  19. July 2022 – present, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence, United States Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.

Awards and decorations

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Gagnon is the recipient of the following awards:[4]

 
Cyberspace Operator Badge
 
Master Intelligence Badge
 
Space Staff Badge
  Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with two bronze oak leaf clusters[4]
  Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Achievement Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
  Air Force Achievement Medal
  Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with one bronze oak leaf cluster
  Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with one bronze service star
  Afghanistan Campaign Medal
  Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
  Korea Defense Service Medal
  Armed Forces Service Medal
  Humanitarian Service Medal
Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon with one bronze oak leaf cluster
  Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold frame
Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and one bronze oak leaf cluster
  Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
  Air Force Training Ribbon
NATO Medal (Yugoslavia) with two bronze service stars

Dates of promotion

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Rank Branch Date
  Second Lieutenant Air Force May 7, 1994
  First Lieutenant August 2, 1996
  Captain August 2, 1998
  Major February 1, 2005
  Lieutenant Colonel June 1, 2008
  Colonel October 1, 2013
  Brigadier General August 2, 2019
  Brigadier General Space Force ~April 29, 2021
  Major General September 29, 2022

Writings

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  • "Why Military Space Matters" (PDF). Joint Force Quarterly (110): 61–63. July 2023.
  • "Why Space Force Intel". American Intelligence Journal. 2022.
  • "Information Warfare, Cyberspace Objectives and the US Air Force" (PDF). Air and Space Power Journal. 34 (3): 4–9. Fall 2020.
  • With Nishawn Smagh (October 9, 2019). "How airmen can work together for persistent ISR". C4ISRNET.
  • With David D. Thompson and Christopher W. McLeod (Summer 2018). "Space as a War-fighting Domain" (PDF). Air and Space Power Journal. 32 (2): 4–8.
  • With B. Edwin Wilson (Spring 2016). "Embedding Airmanship in the Cyberspace Domain" (PDF). The Cyber Defense Review. 1 (1): 27–32.
  • "Network-Centric Special Operations—Exploring New Operational Paradigms" (PDF). Air and Space Power Chronicles. February 4, 2002.
  • With Bill Nelson, Rodney Choi, Michael lacobucci, and Mark Mitchell (December 1999). "Cyberterror: Prospects and Implications" (PDF). Center of the Study of Terrorism and Irregular Warfare. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

References

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  1. ^ Mosbrucker, Kristen (December 11, 2018). "New NSA Texas commander shares goals". San Antonio Business Journal.
  2. ^ "Brig. Gen. Gregory Gagnon Delivers Keynote Address During Potomac Officers Club's Space Intelligence Forum". August 12, 2021.
  3. ^ @UTSAResearch (March 20, 2019). "National Security Agency names #UTSA a featured school>> Colonel Gregory J. Gagnon, direct…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b c "Major Gregory J. Gagnon". United States Space Force. October 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  5. ^ "PN1178 – 1 nominee for Space Force, 117th Congress (2021–2022)". www.congress.gov. September 20, 2021.
  6. ^ "Mollie Raymond on LinkedIn: Thank you Brig Gen Greg Gagnon for volunteering to transfer to the". www.linkedin.com.
  7. ^ "PN2514 — Space Force, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". United States Congress. September 6, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Military offices
Preceded by Commander of the Texas Cryptologic Center
2018–2019
Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of Intelligence of the Air Combat Command
2019–2020
Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of Intelligence of the United States Space Command
2020–2022
Succeeded by
Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence
2022–present
Incumbent