Maj. Gen. Julian C. Cheater is the Director of Strategy, Policy and Plans, U.S. Southern Command, Doral, Florida. As Director of a joint and multinational directorate, he is responsible to the USSOUTHCOM Commander for developing and executing military strategy and policy, leading deliberate and crisis action planning, and overseeing security cooperation for 31 countries and 12 dependencies and areas of special sovereignty in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility. This includes managing foreign military sales cases valued over $5.7 billion while building and integrating partner nations’ multidomain capabilities to help deter and defeat threats. He also conducts high-level U.S. inter-agency and international engagements across the region.
Maj. Gen. Cheater received his commission from the Air Force Academy in 1994. He has commanded at the squadron, group, wing and joint task force levels and is a command pilot with over 3,700 hours in seven aircraft types. His combat experience includes flying in operations Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, Freedom’s Sentinel, Inherent Resolve, Nomad Shadow, Jukebox Lotus, Juniper Garrett and Copper Dune. Additionally, he was in the first class of political-military strategists and was a national finalist for the White House Fellowship.
Previously, Maj. Gen. Cheater served as Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, commanded a joint task force supporting Special Operations Command Central, and commanded the 432nd Wing and the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing.
EDUCATION
1994 Bachelor of Science, Political Science, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2001 Distinguished Graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2007 Distinguished Graduate, Master of Military Operational Art and Science, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2008 Master of Airpower Arts and Sciences, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2009 Distinguished Graduate, Master of Aviation Science, Aeronautics Specialization, Embry-Riddle University, Daytona Beach, Fla.
2009 Air War College, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2013 Graduate with honors, Associate of Arts, Spanish, Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, Calif.
2014 Dual master's degrees in Defense and Security, Distinción Unánime, highest honors, Academia Nacional de Estudios Políticos y Estratégicos, Santiago, Chile; 2nd: Inter-American Defense College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2015 Joint Professional Military Education II, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2016 Leadership Development Program, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2019 Fellow, Capstone General and Flag Officer Course, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2020 Middle East and South Asia Seminar, Alan L. Freed Associates, Washington, D.C.
2021 Combined Forces Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2021-2022 Air Force Executive Leadership Coaching Program, Flatter Inc., Fredericksburg, Va.
2022 Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, LeMay Center, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2022 Advanced Senior Leader Development Seminar, Warrenton, Va.
2024 Leading Data and Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Organizations, Naval Postgraduate School in partnership with Stanford University, Monterey, Calif.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1994–December 1994, Assistant Executive Officer, Department of Political Science, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2. December 1994–December 1995, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, 14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
3. December 1995–July 1999, C-21 Instructor Pilot, Chief of Training, Life Support Officer, 12th Airlift Flight, Langley AFB, Va.
4. July 1999–November 1999, Student, T-38 Requalification Training and AT-38 Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals, 12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB, Texas
5. November 1999–August 2000, Student, F-16 Replacement Training Unit, 62nd Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
6. August 2000–May 2003, F-16 4-Ship Flight Lead, Chief of Scheduling, Squadron Safety Officer, 523rd Fighter Squadron, Cannon AFB, N.M.
7. May 2003–September 2003, Student, T-38 Pilot Instructor Training, 560th Flying Training Squadron, Randolph AFB, Texas
8. September 2003–July 2006, T-38 Instructor Pilot; Chief of Wing Commander’s Action Group; Director of Command and Control; Current Operations Flight Commander; Chief Flight Scheduler, 14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB, Miss.
9. August 2006–June 2007, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
10. July 2007–June 2008, Student, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
11. June 2008–July 2009, Deputy of Strategy, 607th Korea Air and Space Operations Center, Osan Air Base, South Korea
12. November 2009–June 2011, MQ-9 Instructor Pilot, Director of Operations, Director of Combat Operations, 42nd Attack Squadron, Creech AFB, Nev.
13. June 2011–June 2012, MQ-9 Instructor Pilot/MQ-1 Pilot, Commander, 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan
14. August 2012–June 2013, Spanish Student, Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, Calif.
15. July 2013–June 2014, Student, Inter-American Defense College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
16. August 2014–May 2016, Commander, 432nd Operations and Expeditionary Operations Group, Creech AFB, Nev.
17. June 2016–June 2017, Director, Security Assistance, Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq (OSC-I), Baghdad
18. July 2017–June 2019, Commander, 432nd Wing and 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Creech AFB, Nev.
19. June 2019–July 2020, Director, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Operations; Director, Remotely Piloted Aircraft and Airborne ISR Capabilities, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
20. July 2020–July 2021, Deputy Director for ISR Operations (J-32), Joint Staff J-3, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
21. July 2021–July 2022, Commander, Special Operations Joint Task Force - Central, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar
22. July 2022–May 2024, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
23. June 2024–present, Director of Strategy, Policy, and Plans (J-5), Headquarters U.S. Southern Command, Doral, Fla.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2016–June 2017, Director, Security Assistance, Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq (OSC-I), Baghdad, as a colonel
2. July 2020–July 2021, Deputy Director for ISR Operations (J-32), Joint Staff J-3, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a brigadier general
3. July 2021–July 2022, Commander, Special Operations Joint Task Force - Central, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, as a brigadier general
4. June 2024–present, Director of Strategy, Policy, and Plans (J-5), Headquarters U.S. Southern Command, Doral, Fla., as a major general
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: command pilot
Flight hours: more than 3,700
Aircraft flown: MQ-1, MQ-9, RQ-170, F-16, T-38, AT-38 and C-21
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal with two silver oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air and Space Achievement Medal
PUBLICATIONS
“The War Over Warrior: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Adaptive Joint Command and Control,” SAASS Thesis
“Accelerating the Kill Chain Via Future Unmanned Aircraft,” Blue Horizons Paper
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2018 U.S. Air Force General and Mrs. Jerome F. O’Malley Award
(Current as of October 2024)