Steven P. Whitney

This article is about the U.S. Space Force general. For the American hockey player, see Steven Whitney.

Steven P. Whitney is a United States Space Force major general who serves as the director of staff of the United States Space Force. He previously served as the military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration from 2021 to 2023.

Steven P. Whitney
Official portrait, 2023
Born	Edina, Minnesota, U.S.
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Air Force United States Space Force
Years of service	1993–2021 (Air Force) 2021–present (Space Force)
Rank	Major General
Commands	Production Corps, SSC Global Positioning Systems Directorate Global Positioning System User Equipment Division Enterprise Operations Squadron, NRO
Awards	Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit (2)
Alma mater	University of Minnesota (BS) George Washington University (MA)

Whitney graduated in 1992 from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering. He entered the United States Air Force as a distinguished graduate of the university's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He is a career space acquisitions officer who commanded the National Reconnaissance Office's Enterprise Operations Squadron. He has experience working on Global Positioning System (GPS) acquisition, serving as director of the Global Positioning Systems Directorate and senior materiel leader for the GPS User Equipment Division. He has also served as program executive officer for space production at the Space and Missile Systems Center.

In May 2021, he transferred into the Space Force and he was promoted to major general a year later. As director of staff, he is responsible for synchronizing policy, plans, positions, procedures, and cross-functional issues for the Space Force's headquarters staff. He is the first two-star director general of the Space Force after the position was downgraded from a three-star billet.

Education

• 1992 Bachelors of Electrical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
• 1997 Squadron Officer School, Distinguished Graduate, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
• 2000 Master of Arts, Administrative Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
• 2004 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
• 2005 Master of Science, Systems Engineering, Distinguished Graduate, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
• 2007 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
• 2011 Master of Science, National Security Strategy, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
• 2013 Program Managers Course, Defense Acquisition University, Fort Belvoir, Va.
• 2014 Executive Program Managers Course, Defense Acquisition University, Fort Belvoir, Va.

Military career

Whitney in 2017

In September 2022, Whitney was nominated for promotion to major general.

Assignments

Whitney writes a message on the “thermal space blanket” for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency–5 (AEHF-5) satellite, 2019

1. April 1993–July 1996, Defense Support Program & Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Crew Commander and Chief, DSP Spacecraft Engineering; 1st Space Operations Squadron, Schriever Air Force Base, Colo.
2. July 1996–June 1998, Chief, Commanders Action Group and FDS Operations Manager; Space-Based Infrared System Program Office, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
3. June 1998–June 2000, Air Force Intern, Directorate of Space and Nuclear Deterrence, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force and Force Management Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
4. June 2000–May 2004, Senior Flight Commander; Chief, Production Division and director of Engineering, Air Force Communications Support Facility, White Sands Missile Range, Las Cruces, N.M.
5. May 2004–June 2005, Student, Air Force Institute of Technology; Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
6. June 2005–May 2008, MILSATCOM Program Element Monitor and Chief, Congressional & Media Affairs, Space Acquisition Directorate, Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
7. June 2008–July 2010, Commander, Enterprise Operations Squadron, Mission Operations Directorate, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Va.
8. August 2010–June 2011, Student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
9. June 2011–July 2013, Chief, Space/C4 Branch and Space Lead, Joint Chiefs of Staff (J8), the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
10. July 2013–July 2015, Senior Materiel Leader, Global Positioning System User Equipment Division, Global Positioning Systems Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
11. July 2015–June 2019, Director, Global Positioning Systems Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
12. October 2018–June 2019, Program Executive Officer for Space Production, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
13. July 2019–July 2020, Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
14. August 2020–August 2021, Director, Space Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
15. August 2021–June 2023, Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
16. July 2023–present, Director of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.

Awards and decorations

Whitney is the recipient of the following awards:

	Command Space Operations Badge
	Air Force Master Acquisition and Financial Management Badge
	Office of the Secretary of Defense Badge
	Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
	Space Staff Badge

	Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
	Defense Superior Service Medal
	Legion of Merit with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Defense Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
	Meritorious Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Air Force Commendation Medal
	Joint Service Achievement Medal
	Air Force Achievement Medal
	Joint Meritorious Unit Award with two bronze oak leaf clusters
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
	Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with three bronze oak leaf clusters
	National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
	Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
	Armed Forces Service Medal
	Humanitarian Service Medal
	Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal
	Air and Space Campaign Medal
	Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Air Force Training Ribbon

Dates of promotions

Rank	Branch	Date
Second Lieutenant	Air Force	February 17, 1993
First Lieutenant		February 17, 1995
Captain		February 17, 1997
Major		June 1, 2003
Lieutenant Colonel		September 1, 2007
Colonel		June 1, 2012
Brigadier General		April 2, 2019
Brigadier General	Space Force	May 4, 2021
Major General		September 29, 2022

Writings

• With Theresa A. Jamison, Brice T. Niska, and Phillip A. Layman (June 2005). Evaluation of Enterprise Architecture Interoperability (PDF) (M.S.). Air Force Institute of Technology. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2021.{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)