Brig. Gen. Jody A. Merritt is the Mobilization Assistant to the Combined Force Space Component Commander, U.S. Space Command, and Commander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
As Mobilization Assistant to the Commander of U.S. Space Command’s Combined Force Space Component Command, Brig. Gen. Merritt assists in leading more than 17,000 joint and combined personnel with a mission to plan, integrate, conduct and assess global space operations in order to deliver combat relevant space capabilities to combatant commanders, coalition partners, the joint force and the nation. Brig. Gen. Merritt assists in planning and executing space operations through four distinct and geographically dispersed operations centers, including the Combined Space Operations Center at Vandenberg AFB, California; the Missile Warning Center at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado; the Joint Overhead Persistent Infrared Planning Center at Buckley AFB, Colorado, and the Joint Navigation Warfare Center located at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico.
As Mobilization Assistant to the Commander of U.S. Space Force’s Space Operations Command, Brig. Gen. Merritt assists with providing space capabilities such as space domain awareness, space electronic warfare, satellite communications, missile warning, nuclear detonation detection, environmental monitoring; military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; command and control, navigation warfare and positioning, navigation and timing, in support of U.S. Space Command and the other combatant commands.
Brig. Gen. Merritt was commissioned in 1989 through the U.S. Air Force Academy graduating with military distinction. She is a Command Space Operator with operations in seven Department of Defense satellite missions. Brig. Gen. Merritt is a graduate of the Air Force Intern Program, with assignments to the Joint Staff supporting the chairman’s office, secretary of state and president on the Middle East Peace Process. In her civilian role, Brig. Gen. Merritt is a certified Program Management Professional, technical and business development leader. She is also a partner and founder at Woden, a small consulting firm.
EDUCATION
1989 Bachelor of Science, Mathematics with a minor in Spanish, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1991 Master of Science, Management Information Systems, St. Mary’s University, San Antonio
1997 Air Force Intern Program, the Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
1997 Master of Arts, Organizational Management, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
2014 Advanced Joint Professional Military Education, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2015 Senior Requirements Leader, Level C Certification, Defense Acquisition University, Fort Belvoir, Va.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. May 1989-December 1993, Personnel Operations Research Analyst, Executive Officer at Armstrong Laboratory, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas
2. December 1993-July 1995, Flight Commander, Evaluator, and Executive Officer at 1st Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB, Colo.
3. July 1995-May 1997, Air Force Intern Program at the Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
4. May 1997-March 2000, Senior Flight Commander, Director of Engineering at Office of Space Operations, Assistant Space Air Force Element, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. with duty at National Reconnaissance Office, Onizuka Air Force Station, Calif.
5. March 2000-September 2002, Collection Requirements Manager, with duty at National Air Intelligence Center, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio
6. September 2002-October 2004, Joint Tactics Cell Reserve Liaison at Office of Space Operations, Assistant Space Air Force Element, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. with duty at National Reconnaissance Office, Onizuka AFS, Calif.
7. October 2004-October 2005, Wing Individual Mobilization Augmentee, at Office of Space Operations, Assistant Space Air Force Element, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. with duty at National Reconnaissance Office, Onizuka AFS, Calif.
8. October 2006-February 2010, Deputy Operations Flight Commander, Deputy Chief Combat Operations Division, Chief Combat Plans Division at Joint Space Operations Center, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
9. February 2010-June 2012, Director of Operations, 6th Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB, Colo.
10. June 2012-June 2014, Commander, 6th Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB, Colo.
11. June 2014-June 2015, IMA to the Director of Strategic Plans, Requirements, and Analysis, AFSPC/A5/8/9, Peterson AFB, Colo.
12. June 2015-July 2017, IMA to the Director of Integrated Air, Space, Cyberspace and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Operations, Assignments to Defense Innovation Unit Experimental and Office of the Secretary of the Air Force Acquisition, Silicon Valley, Calif.
13. July 2017-November 2019, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
14. November 2019-December 2019, Mobilization Assistant to the Combined Force Space Component Commander, U.S. Space Command, and Commander, 14th Air Force, Air Force Space Command, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
15. December 2019-present, Mobilization Assistant to the Combined Force Space Component Commander, U.S. Space Command, and Commander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1995-May 1997,Air Force Intern Program at the Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a captain
2. October 2015-May 2016, Assignment to Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, Silicon Valley, Calif., as a colonel
3. November 2019-present, Mobilization Assistant to the Combined Force Space Component Commander, U.S. Space Command, Vandenberg AFB, Calif., as a brigadier general
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with oak leaf cluster
National Defense Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Armed Forces Service Medal
Armed Forces Reserve Medal with oak leaf cluster
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 31, 1989
First Lieutenant May 31, 1991
Captain May 31, 1993
Major Oct. 1, 2001
Lieutenant Colonel Sept. 1, 2008
Colonel June 20, 2014
Brigadier General May 1, 2019
(Current as of January 2020)