Gen. Jay Raymond (Ret.)
Thursday, Apr. 6 | 4:00 P.M. | Zoom Webinar
Please join Mark Sirangelo as he welcomes General John “Jay” Raymond, the 1st Chief of Space Operations of the U.S. Space Force, for a fascinating talk on how the Space Force was formed, what it does and what the future of U.S. space may be.
As Chief of Space Operations, General Raymond served as the senior uniformed Space Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipping of all organic and assigned space forces serving in the United States and overseas.
As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of Space Operations functions as a military adviser to the Preside, the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council. Gen. Raymond assumed the duties as the first Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force, Dec. 2019; and Commander, United States Space Command, Aug. 2019.
The U.S. Space Force is responsible for providing resilient, defendable and affordable space capabilities for the nation and the joint force. It is the duty of the U.S. Space Force to protect the interests of the United States in space; deter aggression in, from and to space; and conduct prompt and sustained space operations. The U.S. Space Force operates from six primary centers around the U.S., including three in Colorado.
U.S. Space Command is one of 11 unified commands under the Department of Defense and is responsible for deterring conflict, defending U.S. and allied freedom of action in the space area of operations, delivering combat-relevant space capability to the joint/combined force and developing space forces to advance U.S. and allied interests in, through and from the space domain.
As the Commander of U.S. Space Command, Gen. Raymond directed, assigned and attached joint space forces providing tailored, responsive, theater and global space effects in support of national objectives.
Gen. Raymond was commissioned through the ROTC program at Clemson University in 1984. He commanded at the squadron, group, wing, numbered air force, Major Command and Combatant Command levels. Notable staff assignments included serving in the Office of Force Transformation, Office of the Secretary of Defense; the Director of Plans, Programs and Analyses at Air Force Space Command; the Director of Plans and Policy (J5), U.S. Strategic Command; and the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force.
He holds a BS from Clemson University, Clemson, S.C., a MS from Central Michigan University and a MA, National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. Amongst his many awards and decorations are the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Air Force Commendation Medal and the French Order of Merit.
Mark N. Sirangelo created and hosts the CU Future Insight Seminar Series as CU’s Entrepreneur-Scholar in Residence. He is the recent Chairman of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Board and the DoD’s Space Advisory Committee. Previously he was Special Assistant to the NASA Administrator helping to develop NASA’s return to the Moon. Mark was the founding executive and head of Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Space Systems and has served as the Chief Innovation Officer of Colorado.