Maj. Gen. Stephen T. Denker is the Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Chantilly, Virginia. His responsibilities include assisting the Director and Principal Deputy Director in managing the strategic and tactical operations of the NRO. Also, as the Commander, Air Force Element, he manages all Air Force personnel and resources assigned to the NRO and serves as the senior adviser to the NRO Director on all military matters.
Maj. Gen. Denker entered the Air Force in 1986 after graduating from the University of Minnesota and receiving a commission as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He began his career as a spacecraft engineer at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, followed by acquisition assignments with the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, now known as the Missile Defense Agency, and the Special Programs organization at the Pentagon. General Denker’s operations experience includes developmental test and evaluation activities and specialized operations on a variety of space and ground systems.
He has commanded at the Squadron, Group and Wing level and has served as executive officer, deputy division chief on the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) staff and Commandant, Air Command and Staff College and Vice Commander, Spaatz Center for Officer Education, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.
Prior to his current assignment, he served as the Director of Integrated Air, Space, Cyberspace and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Operations, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.
EDUCATION
1985 Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics degree, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
1988 Masters of Science degree in Systems Management, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
1991 Distinguished graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1995 Advanced Program Managers Course, Defense Systems Management College, Fort Belvoir, Va.
1996 Undergraduate Space and Missile Training, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
1997 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2004 Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2009 Senior Executive Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Mass.
2009 U.S. Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of Virginia Darden School, Charlottesville
2012 Enterprise Perspective Seminar, Capitol Hill Club, Washington, D.C.
2013 Capstone General and Flag Officer Course in Joint and Combined Studies, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
2014 General and Flag Officer Systems Acquisition Management Course, Fort Belvoir, Va.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. March 1986–June 1991, Kinetic Energy Weapons Spacecraft Engineer, Flight Test Project Officer and Suborbital Flight Test Manager, Kinetic Energy Weapons System Program Office, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
2. July 1991–July 1993, Chief, Suborbital Flight Testing, Brilliant Pebbles Task Force, Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
3. August 1993–July 1995, Executive Officer and Deputy Chief, Special Programs Operations Division, Electronics and Special Programs (SAF/AQL), Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
4. August 1995–October 1995, Student, Undergraduate Space and Missile Training, Vandenberg AFB, Calif. 5. November 1995 – July 1997, Flight Commander and Squadron Operations Officer, Office of Special Projects, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Space), Onizuka AFB, Calif.
6. August 1997–June 1998, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
7. July 1998–May 2001, Director of Operations and Commander, Advanced Systems Combined Task Force
8. June 2001–May 2002, Deputy Director, Mission Operations Group, Office of Space Applications, Under Secretary of the Air Force, Buckley AFB, Colo.
9. June 2002–June 2003, Commander, Space Operations Group, Office of Space Applications, Under Secretary of the Air Force, Buckley AFB, Colo.
10. August 2003–August 2004, Student, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Fort Leslie J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
11. August 2004–March 2006, Commander, 84th Specialized Management Squadron, Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB, Utah
12. March 2006–July 2009, Commander, Air Force Element; Chief, Mission Engineering, RAF Menwith Hill, England
13. July 2009–January 2011, Commander, Space Operations Wing and Commander, Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado (ADF-C), Buckley AFB, Colo.
14. January 2011–August 2012, Commandant, Air Command and Staff College and Vice Commander, Spaatz Center for Officer Education, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
15. August 2012–August 2014, Director of Strategic Plans, Programs and Analyses, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
16. August 2014–November 2015, Director of Integrated Air, Space, Cyberspace and ISR Operations, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.
17. November 2015–August 2018, Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Va.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
July 2009–January 2011, Commander, Aerospace Data Facility Colorado (ADF-C), Buckley AFB, Colo., as a colonel
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
National Intelligence Exceptional Achievement Medal
National Reconnaissance Office Distinguished Service Medal
National Reconnaissance Office Superior Service Medal
National Security Agency Bronze Medallion
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Medallion for Excellence
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Jan. 2, 1986
First Lieutenant Jan. 25, 1988
Captain Jan. 25, 1990
Major Sept. 1, 1997
Lieutenant Colonel May 1, 2001
Colonel Aug. 1, 2005
Brigadier General June 7, 2011
Major General Aug. 29, 2014
(Current as of May 2016)