Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein
Commander, Space Systems Command, U.S. Space Force
Lt. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein is Commander, Space Systems Command, headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. He is responsible for approximately 10,000 employees nationwide and an annual budget of $10 Billion, managing the research, design, development, acquisition, launch, and sustainment of satellites and the associated command and control systems. His extensive portfolio includes military satellite communication, missile warning, navigation and timing, space-based weather, space launch and test ranges, space superiority, responsive space and other emerging evolutionary space programs.
Lt. Gen. Guetlein recently served as the Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Virginia, assisting the Director in managing the strategic and tactical operations of the NRO. Additionally, as the Commander of the Space Force Element, he managed all Air Force personnel and resources assigned to the NRO and served as the senior advisor to the DNRO on all military matters.
Prior to the National Reconnaissance Office, Lt. Gen. Guetlein served as the Program Executive for Programs and Integration for the Missile Defense Agency. Previous assignments include Director of Remote Sensing Systems at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Commander of the Rapid Reaction Squadron at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, and the Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. His experience includes the AC-130U, B-2 Spirit, next-generation aerial refueling tanker, space-based missile detection systems and counterspace systems. Lt. Gen. Guetlein was commissioned through the ROTC program at Oklahoma State University in 1991.