Maj. Gen. J. Daniel Caine is the Director of Special Programs and the Department of Defense Special Access Program Central Office (DoD SAPCO), the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. He serves as the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary of Defense under the authority, direction and control of the Deputy Secretary of Defense for all programs protected under special access controls in order to acquire and deploy operational and intelligence capabilities to warfighters worldwide. He is tri-hatted as the Acquisition & Sustainment / Research & Engineering Under Secretary’s Director of Special Programs, providing cognizance of the Acquisition Special Access Program portfolio. He also provides management oversight to the National Assessment Group and Chairs the Low Observable/Counter Low Observable Tri-Service Committee.
Maj. Gen. Caine was commissioned in 1990 through the ROTC program at the Virginia Military Institute. He served in various operational, staff and joint assignments, primarily as an F-16 Fighting Falcon Instructor Pilot, Weapons Officer, member of the White House staff and special operations officer. He has served in Air Combat Command, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command and at the District of Columbia National Guard in Washington, D.C. He has commanded a joint special operations air directorate, a joint task force and a group. Maj. Gen. Caine is a Command Pilot with more than 2,800 hours in the F-16 and has served as a Joint Terminal Attack Controller in a special mission unit assigned to the U.S. Special Operations Command.
Prior to his current assignment, Maj. Gen. Caine was the Deputy Commanding General (Forward) assigned to the Special Operations Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria.
EDUCATION
1990 Bachelor of Arts, Economics, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington
1998 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., by correspondence
1999 Air Force Weapons School Instructor Course, Nellis AFB, Nev.
2001 Air Force Air to Ground Operations School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
2004 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2005 Master of Arts, Air Warfare, American Military University, Charles Town, W.Va.
2006 White House Fellow, Air Force Fellows Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
2012 North American Aerospace Defense Command/U.S. Northern Command Joint Task Force Commander Training Course, Peterson AFB, Colo.
2012 Senior Leaders Maintenance Course, Washington, D.C.
2017 Joint and Combined Warfighting Course (JPME-2), Norfolk, Va.
2019 Capstone, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2019 Senior Executives for National and International Security, The Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, Mass.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. November 1992–December 1993, Student, Euro-NATO Undergraduate Pilot Training, 80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas
2. January 1994–April 1994, F-16 Fighting Falcon Pilot/Assistant Training Officer/Scheduling Officer, 138th Fighter Squadron, Syracuse Air National Guard Base, N.Y.
3. April 1994–June 1995, F-16 Pilot/Assistant Weapons Officer, 138th Fighter Squadron, Syracuse ANG Base, N.Y.
4. June 1995–November 1995, F-16 Instructor Pilot/Chief of Scheduling and Training, 138th Fighter Squadron, Syracuse ANG Base, N.Y.
5. November 1995–April 1998, F-16 Instructor Pilot/Chief of Training, 138th Fighter Squadron, Syracuse ANG Base, N.Y.
6. April 1998–July 1998, F-16 Instructor Pilot/Chief of Weapons, 138th Fighter Squadron, Syracuse ANG Base, N.Y.
7. July 1998–January 1999, F-16 Instructor Pilot/Chief of Weapons, 121st Fighter Squadron, Andrews AFB, Md.
8. January 1999–June 1999, Student, F-16 Fighter Weapons School, 57th Fighter Wing, Nellis AFB, Nev.
9. June 1999–November 2001, F-16 Instructor Pilot/Flight Commander/Chief of Weapons and Tactics, 121st Fighter Squadron, Andrews AFB, Md.
10. November 2001–February 2002, F-16 Mission Commander/Chief of Group Weapons and Tactics, 332nd Air Expeditionary Group, Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait
11. February 2002–January 2003, Counter Scud Project Officer, United States Central Command, MacDill AFB, Fla.
12. January 2003–May 2003, F-16 Mission Commander/Flight Commander/Chief of Wing Weapons and Tactics, 410th Air Expeditionary Wing, Location Masked
13. May 2003–January 2005, Chief of Weapons and Current Operations, ANG AFRC Test Center, Tucson Air National Guard Base, Ariz.
14. January 2005–August 2005, Director of Operations, ANG Air Force Reserve Command Test Center, Tucson ANG Base, Ariz.
15. August 2005–September 2006, White House Fellow, Special Assistant to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
16. October 2006–January 2008, Policy Director for Counterterrorism and Strategy, White House Homeland Security Council, Executive Office of the President, Washington, D.C.
17. January 2008–July 2008, J3 and Commander, Joint Special Operations Task Force – Air Directorate, Balad, Iraq
18. July 2008–November 2010, F-16 Instructor Pilot/Mission Commander, 121st Fighter Squadron, Andrews AFB, Md. (July 2008 – March 2010, Special Tactics Air Liaison Officer, 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Joint Special Operations Command, Pope AFB, N.C.)
19. November 2010–June 2012, Director of Operations (A3)/Deputy Director of Joint Operations (J3), Joint Force Headquarters, District of Columbia ANG, Washington, D.C.
20. June 2012–June 2014, Commander, 113th Maintenance Group, Joint Base Andrews, Md.
21. June 2014–May 2016, Director of Joint Operations and Training (J3), Joint Force Headquarters, District of Columbia National Guard, Washington, D.C.
22. May 2016–Jun 2016, Deputy Commanding General, Air, Joint Force Headquarters, District of Columbia ANG, Washington, D.C.
23. June 2016–May 2018, Assistant to the Vice Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, Special Operations Command Washington Office, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. and Assistant Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C. (Concurrently)
24. May 2018–September 2019, Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Central Command Special Operations Component and Deputy Commanding General – Special Operations Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq) (Concurrently).
25. September 2019–present, Director, Special Programs and DoD Special Access Program Central Office, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. February 2002–January 2003, Counter Scud Project Officer, United States Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., as a major
2. August 2005–September 2006, White House Fellow, Special Assistant to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., as a lieutenant colonel
3. October 2006–January 2008, Policy Director of Counterterrorism and Strategy, White House Homeland Security Council, Washington, D.C., as a lieutenant colonel
4. January 2008–July 2008, J3 and Commander, Joint Special Operations Task Force Air Directorate, Balad, Iraq, as a lieutenant colonel
5. June 2016–May 2018, Assistant to the Vice Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, Washington, D.C. Office, as a brigadier general and Assistant Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C., as a brigadier general
6. May 2018–September 2019, Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Central Command–Special Operations Component and Deputy Commanding General – Special Operations Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq) as a brigadier general
7. September 2019–present, Director DoD Special Programs and Director, DoD Special Access Program Central Office as a major general
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: command pilot
Flight Hours: 2,800 hours, including more than 100 combat hours
Aircraft Flown: T-37, T-38, F-16
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Distinguished Flying Cross
Bronze Star Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with “V” device and four bronze oak leaf clusters
Combat Readiness Medal
National Defense Service Medal with bronze campaign star
Iraq Campaign Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Air Force Expeditionary Service Medal
Air Force Longevity Service Award with three bronze oak leaf clusters
Armed Forces Reserve Medal with hourglass device
Air Force Training Ribbon
Presidential Service Badge
PUBLICATIONS
“The Air Force Book”, The Air Force Association, September 11th vignette
“Concept of Operations for the location, identification and destruction of Scud Missiles”, Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003
“Hurricane Katrina Lessons Learned Report”, The White House, March 2006
“The National Strategy for Homeland Security”, The White House, Oct. 2007
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1992 Distinguished Graduate, Euro-NATO Undergraduate Pilot Training
1999 Outstanding Graduate, U.S. Air Force F-16 Weapons School
2004 Lieutenant General Claire Chennault Award as the Air Force’s Outstanding Aerial Tactician
Multiple Civilian Pilot Ratings, including Air Transport Pilot
EFFECTIVE DATE OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Oct. 1, 1990
First Lieutenant Oct. 1, 1993
Captain Oct. 10, 1995
Major Dec. 28, 2000
Lieutenant Colonel April 8, 2005
Colonel Jan. 10, 2011
Brigadier General May 5, 2016
Major General Sept. 16, 2019
(Current as of March 2020)