John E. Shaw

John E. Shaw
John E. Shaw
	Official portrait, 2023
Born	March 17, 1968 (age 56); Norton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Air Force United States Space Force;
Years of service	1990–2020 (Air Force) 2020–2023 (Space Force);
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Combined Force Space Component Command Space Operations Command; Fourteenth Air Force; 21st Space Wing; 50th Operations Group; 4th Space Operations Squadron;
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal Air Force Distinguished Service Medal (2); Defense Superior Service Medal (2); Legion of Merit (2);
Alma mater	United States Air Force Academy (BS) University of Washington (MS); George Washington University (MA);
Spouse(s)	Tonia Shaw
Signature

John Edwin Shaw (born March 17, 1968) is a retired United States Space Force lieutenant general who last served as the deputy commander of the United States Space Command from 2020 to 2023. He previously served as commander of the Combined Force Space Component Command and deputy commander of Space Operations Command.

Shaw is from Norton, Massachusetts. He entered the United States Air Force in 1990 after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy. A career space operations officer, he served in various operations and staff positions in the Air Force, including commanding the Fourteenth Air Force, 21st Space Wing, 50th Operations Group, and 4th Space Operations Squadron. He transferred to the Space Force in 2020 he was promoted to lieutenant general and became the second deputy commander of the United States Space Command.

Shaw has received graduate degrees from the University of Washington and George Washington University. He was also a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. He was a contender for the chief of space operations position. He has written extensively on the space domain and the future of the military's role in space.^[1] In 2023, he retired from active duty. After retiring, he joined the advisory board of Sierra Space and the board of directors of Stoke Space.

Early life and education[edit]

John Edwin Shaw^[2] was born on March 17, 1968.^[3] Raised in Norton, Massachusetts, he is a distinguished graduate from the United States Air Force Academy in 1990 with a B.S. degree in astronautical engineering and a minor in Russian language.^[4] He later earned an M.S. degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington in 1991 with a thesis entitled Optimal Control Designs for an Inverted Cart-Pendulum Array.^[2] He went on to receive two M.A. degrees in 1998 and 2004: one in organizational management from George Washington University and one in military operational arts and sciences from Air Command and Staff College, respectively. He also completed a M.S. degree in national security strategy in 2008 from the National War College. He was also a senior executive fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School in 2010.^[5]

Military career[edit]

After graduating from the United States Air Force Academy, Shaw was commissioned into the United States Air Force on May 30, 1990. For a year, he studied at the University of Washington.^[5]

His first operational assignment was at the 1st Space Operations Squadron from 1991 to 1994 where he was the deputy crew commander and spacecraft systems engineer. In October 1994, he was assigned as the flight commander and chief of mission analysis at the Mission Control Complex IX, Operating Division 4, Onizuka Air Force Station in California. From 1996 to 1998, he was an intern in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Space and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.^[5]

Shaw was assigned to locations outside the United States from 1998 to 2001. He was first assigned to Ramstein Air Base, Germany for a year as the chief of special information warfare plans for the 32nd Air Operations Group. He was then deployed for two months to Naples, Italy where he was chief of special technical operations for Joint Task Force Noble Anvil during the Kosovo War. After that, he was assigned as the executive officer for director of aerospace operations of the United States Air Forces in Europe.^[5]

In 2001, Shaw became a field grade officer, having been promoted to major, and was reassigned to the Air Force headquarters as the deputy chief of the strategy branch in the Directorate for Space Operations and Integration. For a year after that, he was a speechwriter for the secretary of the Air Force and chief of staff, assigned to their executive action group. He spent almost a year at the Air Command and Staff College where he earned an M.A. degree. From 2004 to 2005, he served as the first operations officer for the newly activated 25th Space Control Tactics Squadron. After such tour, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He took command of the 4th Space Operations Squadron in June 2005 from Ronald L. Huntley, which he commanded for two years. After his first command duty, he spent a year as a student at the National War College where he completed an M.S. degree in national security strategy.

Shaw was then promoted to colonel in 2008 and assigned as director of the United States Strategic Command commander's action group, serving under General Kevin P. Chilton. On July 1, 2010, he took command of the 50th Operations Group. After two years, he was assigned to the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Space Policy) as a senior policy advisor.^[5]

After his assignment in Washington, Shaw took command of the 21st Space Wing on July 26, 2013. On June 5, 2015, before relinquishing command to Douglas Schiess, he was promoted to brigadier general.^[6]^[7] From June 2015 to June 2017, he was assigned to the U.S. Strategic Command as the deputy director for global operations. After that, he was reassigned to the Air Force Space Command first as the director of strategic plans, programs, requirements, and analysis from 2017 to 2018 and then as deputy commander of the major command from 2018 to 2019 after he was promoted to major general.^[5]

Shaw took over command of the Combined Force Space Component Command and Fourteenth Air Force after he and Major General Stephen N. Whiting traded their current positions, with Whiting taking over Shaw's position as deputy commander of the Air Force Space Command.^[8] On December 20, 2019, with the establishment of the United States Space Force, the Fourteenth Air Force was temporarily redesignated as the Space Operations Command.^[9] On October 21, 2020, the Space Operations Command in Vandenberg Air Force Base was inactivated prior to the activation of a separate Space Operations Command, a new field command for which Shaw became the deputy commander.^[10]^[11]

On September 30, 2020, Shaw was nominated for transfer to the Space Force,^[12] promotion to lieutenant general,^[13] and assignment as deputy commander of the United States Space Command.^[14]^[15] He relinquished command of the Combined Force Space Component Command on November 16, 2020, to Major General DeAnna Burt.^[16] He was promoted and transferred to the Space Force on November 23, 2020, in a ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy and took on duties as deputy commander of U.S. Space Command the next day.^[17] On October 5, 2023, he relinquished his position as deputy commander after he extension caused by Senator Tommy Tuberville's hold on his successor's nomination.^[18]

Shaw held his retirement ceremony on September 8, 2023. His official retirement was on November 1, 2023.^[5]

Civilian career[edit]

After retiring, Shaw joined the national security space strategic advisory group of Sierra Space.^[19]^[20] In April 2024, Stoke Space appointed him to their board of directors.^[21]

Personal life[edit]

Shaw is married to Tonia Shaw.^[6]^[17]

Awards and decorations[edit]

Shaw is the recipient of the following awards:^[5]

	Command Space Operations Badge
	Basic Parachutist Badge
	Office of the Secretary of Defense Badge
	United States Space Command Badge
	Air Staff Badge

	Defense Distinguished Service Medal
	Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Defense Superior Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Legion of Merit with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Defense Meritorious Service Medal
	Meritorious Service Medal with four bronze oak leaf clusters
	Joint Service Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
	Joint Service Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
	Air Force Achievement Medal
	Joint Meritorious Unit Award with three bronze oak leaf clusters
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with two bronze oak leaf clusters
	Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Combat Readiness Medal
	National Reconnaissance Office Distinguished Service Medal (Gold Medal)
	National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
	Kosovo Campaign Medal with one bronze service star
	Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
	Armed Forces Service Medal
	Air and Space Campaign Medal
	Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon
	Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters
	Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
	Air Force Training Ribbon

General Jerome F. O'Malley Distinguished Space Leadership Award
Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
National Finalist, White House Fellow Program
Royal Air Force Historical Society and U.S. Air Force Historical Foundation "Two Air Forces" Award for Writing (1998)

Dates of promotion[edit]


Rank	Branch	Date
Second Lieutenant	Air Force	May 30, 1990
First Lieutenant		May 30, 1992
Captain		May 30, 1994
Major		May 1, 2001
Lieutenant Colonel		May 1, 2005
Colonel		October 1, 2008
Brigadier General		June 5, 2015
Major General		August 17, 2018
Lieutenant General	Space Force	November 23, 2020

Writings[edit]

Op-eds[edit]

"Welcome to the Third Space Age". SpaceNews. August 29, 2023.
"The U.S. Space Force must be independent but not insular". SpaceNews. September 13, 2019.

Books[edit]

With Pete Worden (2002). Whither Space Power? Forging a Strategy for the New Century (PDF). Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University Press. ISBN 1-58566-111-2.

Articles[edit]

With Daniel R. Borque and Marcus Shaw (Winter 2023). "Dynamic Space Operations: The New Sustained Space Maneuver Imperative" (PDF). Æther: A Journal of Strategic Airpower & Spacepower. 2 (Special Edition): 8–16.
With Jean Purgason and Amy Soileau (Spring 2022). "Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Space as a Military Area of Responsibility" (PDF). Æther: A Journal of Strategic Airpower & Spacepower. 1 (1): 35–44.
"Letter to the Editorial Board". Space Force Journal (2). April–June 2021.
"Guarding the High Ocean: Towards a New National-Security Space Strategy through an Analysis of U.S. Maritime Strategy" (PDF). Air and Space Power Journal. XXIII (1): 55–64. Spring 2009.
"On Cossacks, Subs, and SAMs: Defeating Challenges to U.S. Space Superiority" (PDF). High Frontier Journal. 1 (3): 23–828. Winter 2005.
Shaw, John E. (Winter 1999). "The Influence of Space Power Upon History: 1944-1998" (PDF). Air Power History Journal. 46 (4): 20–29. JSTOR 26288881.

Thesis[edit]

Optimal Control Designs for an Inverted Cart-Pendulum Array (PDF) (M.S.). University of Washington. 1991. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 12, 2021.

References[edit]

^ Hitchens, Theresa (March 16, 2022). "Two finalists emerge for next Space Force chief: Sources". Breaking Defense.
^ ^a ^b Shaw, John Edwin (1991). Optimal Control Designs for an Inverted Cart-Pendulum Array (PDF) (M.S.). University of Washington. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 12, 2021.
^ Worden, Simon P.; Shaw, John E. (2002). Whither Space Power? Forging a Strategy for the New Century (PDF). Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University Press. p. ix. ISBN 1-58566-111-2.
^ Polaris (PDF). Vol. XXXII. Colorado Springs, Colorado: United States Air Force Academy. 1990. p. 224. Retrieved August 12, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Lieutenant General John E. Shaw". United States Space Force. December 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ ^a ^b Staff Writer (June 11, 2015). "Wing commander pins on first star".
^ "Guidon passed as 21st Space Wing changes command". June 22, 2015.
^ Chiles, Cody (November 21, 2019). "Shaw and Whiting trade places, both Space Commands win big". Air Force Space Command. Retrieved May 23, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Chiles, Cody (December 27, 2019). "14th Air Force Redesignated as Space Operations Command". Vandenberg Air Force Base. Retrieved May 22, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Kirby, Lynn (June 30, 2020). "USSF field command structure reduces command layers, focuses on space warfighter needs". United States Space Force. Retrieved October 4, 2021. The staff and operations elements of USSF at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, which is also the former AFSPC, will become the headquarters SpOC. There is an existing unit at Vandenberg AFB, California, named Space Operations Command, which will be renamed upon activation of the field command SpOC. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Strout, Nathan (October 21, 2020). "Space Force establishes the first of three field commands". Defense News.
^ "PN2256 — Maj. Gen. John E. Shaw — Space Force". United States Congress. September 30, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
^ "PN2255 — Maj. Gen. John E. Shaw — Space Force". United States Congress. September 30, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
^ "Shaw Nominated for SPACECOM's No. 2 Job". October 2, 2020.
^ "General Officer Announcement". United States Department of Defense. October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
^ "Combined Force Space Component Command welcomes new commander at VAFB". KSBY. November 16, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Shaw receives third star, transfers to Space Force". Space Operations Command (SpOC).
^ "Honoring a Leader Focused on Space". United States Space Command. October 11, 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ "Retired U.S. Space Force, Lt. Gen. John E. Shaw, has joined Sierra Space's National Security Space Strategic Advisor Group". LinkedIn. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
^ "Sierra Space Leadership". Sierra Space. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
^ "Stoke Space Names Retired U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen. John E. Shaw to Board of Directors, Paul Croci as Chief Financial Officer". PR Newswire. April 8, 2024.

External links[edit]

Appearances on C-SPAN

Military offices
Preceded by Chris D. Crawford	Commander of the 21st Space Wing 2013–2015	Succeeded by Douglas Schiess
Preceded by Clinton Crosier	Deputy Director for Global Operations of the United States Strategic Command 2015–2017	Succeeded by Gregory S. Bowen
Preceded by Nina Armagno	Director of Strategic Plans, Programs, Requirements and Analysis of the Air Force Space Command 2017–2018	Succeeded by William Liquori
Preceded by Robert J. Skinner	Deputy Commander of the Air Force Space Command 2018–2019	Succeeded by Stephen Whiting
Preceded by Stephen Whiting	Commander of Space Operations Command 2019–2020	Command inactivated
Preceded by Stephen Whiting	Commander of the Combined Force Space Component Command 2019–2020	Succeeded by DeAnna Burt
New office	Vice Commander of Space Operations Command 2020	Succeeded by DeAnna Burt
Preceded by James H. Dickinson	Deputy Commander of the United States Space Command 2020–2023	Succeeded by Thomas L. James

[1] Hitchens, Theresa (March 16, 2022). "Two finalists emerge for next Space Force chief: Sources". Breaking Defense.

[thesis-2] Shaw, John Edwin (1991). Optimal Control Designs for an Inverted Cart-Pendulum Array (PDF) (M.S.). University of Washington. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 12, 2021.

[3] Worden, Simon P.; Shaw, John E. (2002). Whither Space Power? Forging a Strategy for the New Century (PDF). Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University Press. p. ix. ISBN 1-58566-111-2.

[yearbook-4] Polaris (PDF). Vol. XXXII. Colorado Springs, Colorado: United States Air Force Academy. 1990. p. 224. Retrieved August 12, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[biography-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Lieutenant General John E. Shaw". United States Space Force. December 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[first_star-6] Staff Writer (June 11, 2015). "Wing commander pins on first star".

[7] "Guidon passed as 21st Space Wing changes command". June 22, 2015.

[trade-8] Chiles, Cody (November 21, 2019). "Shaw and Whiting trade places, both Space Commands win big". Air Force Space Command. Retrieved May 23, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[9] Chiles, Cody (December 27, 2019). "14th Air Force Redesignated as Space Operations Command". Vandenberg Air Force Base. Retrieved May 22, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[10] Kirby, Lynn (June 30, 2020). "USSF field command structure reduces command layers, focuses on space warfighter needs". United States Space Force. Retrieved October 4, 2021. The staff and operations elements of USSF at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, which is also the former AFSPC, will become the headquarters SpOC. There is an existing unit at Vandenberg AFB, California, named Space Operations Command, which will be renamed upon activation of the field command SpOC. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[11] Strout, Nathan (October 21, 2020). "Space Force establishes the first of three field commands". Defense News.

[12] "PN2256 — Maj. Gen. John E. Shaw — Space Force". United States Congress. September 30, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.

[13] "PN2255 — Maj. Gen. John E. Shaw — Space Force". United States Congress. September 30, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.

[14] "Shaw Nominated for SPACECOM's No. 2 Job". October 2, 2020.

[15] "General Officer Announcement". United States Department of Defense. October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.

[16] "Combined Force Space Component Command welcomes new commander at VAFB". KSBY. November 16, 2020.

[transfer-17] "Shaw receives third star, transfers to Space Force". Space Operations Command (SpOC).

[18] "Honoring a Leader Focused on Space". United States Space Command. October 11, 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[19] "Retired U.S. Space Force, Lt. Gen. John E. Shaw, has joined Sierra Space's National Security Space Strategic Advisor Group". LinkedIn. Retrieved March 1, 2024.

[20] "Sierra Space Leadership". Sierra Space. Retrieved March 1, 2024.

[21] "Stoke Space Names Retired U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen. John E. Shaw to Board of Directors, Paul Croci as Chief Financial Officer". PR Newswire. April 8, 2024.

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