Lieutenant General JAMES C. DAWKINS JR.

Lt. Gen. James Dawkins Jr. is Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. The general is responsible to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force for focus on Nuclear Deterrence Operations. He provides direction, guidance, integration and advocacy regarding the nuclear deterrence mission of the U.S. Air Force and engages with joint and interagency partners for nuclear enterprise solutions.

Lt. Gen. Dawkins was commissioned in 1989. He has held a variety of operational and staff assignments, including command of Eighth Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana; the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota; the 509th Operations Group at Whiteman AFB, Missouri; and the 338th Combat Training Squadron, an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance training squadron at Offutt AFB, Nebraska. His staff assignments include positions at the Joint Staff, U.S. Strategic Command, Headquarters International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, the Department of Energy and the National Security Council. Prior to his current assignment, he served as Director, Global Power Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Acquisition, Technology & Logistics, at the Pentagon.

Lt. Gen. Dawkins Jr. is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours in fighter, reconnaissance and bomber aircraft.

EDUCATION
1988 Bachelor of Business, Baylor University, Waco, Texas
1994 U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
1995 Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, Calif.
1995 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2000 Master of Aeronautical Science, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla.
2004 Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
2005 School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2009 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. November 1988–March 1989, Student, Officer Training School, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
2. April 1989–April 1990, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus AFB, Miss.
3. May 1990–July 1990, Lead in Fighter Training, 433rd Fighter Training Squadron, Holloman AFB, N.M.
4. August 1990–December 1990, Student, F-111 training, 389th Fighter Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
5. January 1991–January 1995, Instructor Pilot, F-111, Chief of Squadron Weapons and Tactics, 522nd and 428th Fighter Squadron, Cannon AFB, N.M.
6. February 1995–January 1996, German Language Training, Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, Calif.
7. February 1996–June 1996, Student, F-16 training, 308th Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
8. July 1996–February 1999, Flight Commander, F-16, 22nd Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany
9. March 1999–March 2002, Instructor Pilot, B-2, Chief of Wing Weapons and Tactics, 393rd Bomb Squadron, Whiteman AFB, Mo.
10. April 2002–June 2003, Operations Officer, Deputy Directorate Global Operations (J-3), Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C.
11. July 2003–June 2004, Student, Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
12. July 2004–June 2005, Student, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
13. July 2005–May 2006, Director of Operations, 13th Bomb Squadron, Whiteman AFB, Mo.
14. October 2006–January 2008, Commander, 338th Combat Training Squadron, Offutt AFB, Neb.
15. January 2008–July 2008, Deputy Director, Global Innovation and Strategy Center, U.S. Strategic Command, Omaha, Neb.
16. July 2008–May 2009, Student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
17. June 2009–May 2010, Commander, 509th Operations Group, Whiteman AFB, Mo.
18. June 2010–January 2011, Director, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command Joint Operations Center, Kabul, Afghanistan
19. February 2011–May 2011, Vice Commander, 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman AFB, Mo.
20. May 2011–January 2013, Commander, 5th Bomb Wing, Minot AFB, N.D.
21. January 2013–September 2014, Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator for Military Application, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.
22. September 2014–July 2016, Director, Strategic Capabilities Policy, National Security Council, Washington, D.C.
23. July 2016–August 2018, Deputy Director for Nuclear, Homeland Defense and Current Operations, (J-33) Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
24. August 2018–June 2020, Commander, Eighth Air Force and Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, Barksdale AFB, La.
25. June 2020–September 2020, Director, Global Power Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary Acquisition, Technology & Logistics, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
26. October 2020–present, Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 2002–June 2003, Operations Officer, Deputy Directorate Global Operations (J-3), Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C., as a major
2. January 2008–July 2008, Deputy Director, Global Innovation and Strategy Center, U.S. Strategic Command, Omaha, Neb., as a lieutenant colonel
3. June 2010–January 2011, Director, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command Joint Operations Center, Kabul, Afghanistan, as a colonel
4. January 2013–September 2014, Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator for Military Application, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy, Washington, D.C., as a brigadier general
5. September 2014–July 2016, Director, Strategic Capabilities Policy, National Security Council, Washington, D.C., as a brigadier general
6. July 2016–August 2018, Deputy Director for Nuclear, Homeland Defense and Current Operations (J-33), Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a brigadier general
7. August 2018–June 2020, Commander, Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, Barksdale AFB, La., as a major general

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating:  command pilot
Flight hours:  3,007 (combat: 267)
Aircraft flown:  F-111, F-16CJ, RC-135, B-2, B-52, B-1

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal

(Current as of October 2020)