In 2018, Thompson was assigned to Washington, D.C. to serve as the liaison of Air Force Space Command to the Pentagon and Congress during the creation of the Space Force. In October 2020, he transferred to the Space Force and assumed as the first vice chief of space operations. He was promoted to general, becoming the second general in the Space Force. He retired from the Space Force in 2023.
After retiring from the Space Force, Thompson joined the advisory board of HawkEye 360.
General Goldfein (left) promotes Thompson (right) to lieutenant general, 2018
From 1985 to 1988, Thompson was assigned at the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base, California, as an experimental rocket propulsion engineer and chief of motor/component operations section. After that, he studied for a year at Purdue University. After receiving his graduate from Purdue, he went back to USAFA, now as an instructor of astronautics, assistant professor, and executive officer, for three years from 1989 to 1992. He continued his studies from 1992 to 1995 at the Presidio of Monterey, California and Johannes Kepler University Linz.[5]
After his deployment, Thompson was promoted to brigadier general and served as vice commander of the Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. He then went back to AFSPC from 2011 to 2012 as director of air, space, and cyberspace operations. From 2012 to 2015, he was assigned at the United States Strategic Command at Offut Air Force Base, Nebraska, first as the deputy director for global operations and then as director of plans and policy.[5]
From July 2015 to July 2017, he served as the Air Force Space Command's then-two-star vice commander. That position was then renamed as AFSPC deputy commander in 2017 with Thompson serving as the special assistant to the AFSPC commander. In 2018, the AFSPC planned to revive the vice commander position, turning it into a position for a three-star general after Congress nixed plans on creating a deputy chief of staff for space operations position.[7] On April 4, 2018, he then resumed his previous position as AFSPC vice commander, promoted to lieutenant general.[8]
With the redesignation of the AFSPC as the newly created United States Space Force on December 20, 2019, Thompson retained his position as vice commander of the Space Force. In August 2020, he was nominated for transfer to the Space Force at his current rank of lieutenant general.[9] He was also nominated for appointment to the rank of general[10] and assignment as the first vice chief of space operations.[11][12] He was confirmed by the Senate on September 30, 2020,[10] and assumed rank following day.[13] Thompson assumed office on October 2.[14]
In October 2020, Thompson tested positive for COVID-19 after a family member who he was in contact with tested positive.[15] He was asymptomatic and returned to work on November 9, 2020, after an 11-day quarantine.[16]
Thompson retired from the Space Force on December 14, 2023.[17]
Civilian career
In March 2024, HawkEye 360 announced that Thompson was selected as a member of their advisory board. "I was drawn to HawkEye 360 by the vision and passion of the company leadership to serve the security needs of the nation and its Armed Forces," Thompson wrote.[18]
Awards and decorations
Thompson (left) receives the Air Force Association's Jerome F. O'Malley Distinguished Space Leadership Award, 2011
Thompson is the recipient of the following awards and decorations:[13]
^Polaris(PDF). Vol. XXVII. Colorado Springs, Colorado: United States Air Force Academy. 1985. p. 84. Retrieved February 21, 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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