Maj. Gen. Edward Vaughan serves as Executive Director, Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. He leads the multi-disciplinary team responsible for driving urgent solutions for our warfighters and partners enabling decisive action and victory. He serves as Executive Secretary for all Department of Defense Senior Integration Groups and is the senior defense official responsible for recommendation of the $750 million Rapid Acquisition Authorities for Joint Urgent and Emergent Operational Needs and interagency Defense Assisted Acquisition initiatives.
Gen. Vaughan completed Reserve Officer Training Corps at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and later earned his commission as top graduate from Air National Guard officer training. He held numerous deployed, command, and staff leadership positions at the squadron, group, wing, and joint task force levels, including command of a flying wing. He has extensive humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and security cooperation, experience, including private sector roles in engineering, technology start-ups, and cross-cultural negotiation.
Gen. Vaughan is a command fighter pilot and polar airlifter with more than 2,700 flying hours, including 205 combat hours fighting in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Southern Watch, and executed over 100 polar ski landings in Operation Deep Freeze. He holds a master’s degree from Air War College, where he was a fellow and later faculty with the Blue Horizons futures program. He was the first Reserve officer inducted in the U.S. Air Force Safety Hall of Fame for creating the Disruptive Solutions Process.
EDUCATION
1991 Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y.
1992 Academy of Military Science, Honor and Distinguished Graduate, McGhee-Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn.
1992 Barren Land Arctic Survival Course, Sondrestrom Air Base and Dye-II Outpost, Greenland
1997 Squadron Officer School, Distinguished and Top Squadron Graduate, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2002 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2003 Joint Air Commanders Course, Air Warfare Center, Nellis AFB, Nev.
2009 Master of Strategic Studies, with Distinction, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2010 Joint Air Operations Planning Course, LeMay Center for Doctrine, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2012 Joint Faculty Development Course, Air War College, Ala., Joint Forces Staff College, Va.
2015 National Security Studies Program, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
2017 Director of Mobility Forces Course, USAF Expeditionary Operations School, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
2017 Joint Task Force Commander Course, U.S. Northern Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.
2019 Senior Leader Orientation Course, Joint Base Andrews, Md. and JB San Antonio, Texas
2019 Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC) certification as deputy commanding general, Royal Canadian Air Force, 1 Canadian Air Division, Winnipeg, Manitoba
2020 Capstone General and Flag Officer Course, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2021 Leading Strategically Experience, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2023 Space Executive Course, National Security Space Institute, Colorado Springs, Colo.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 1992–February 1993, Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training, Distinguished Graduate and Ira J. Husik Trophy, Mather Air Force Base, Calif.
2. February 1993–April 1993, C-130 Replacement Training Unit, Distinguished Graduate, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
3. May 1993–August 1995, LC/C-130 Navigator, 139th Airlift Squadron, Stratton Air National Guard Base, N.Y.
4. August 1995–August 1996, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Military Training Trophy and Fighter-Attack-Reconnaissance (FAR) certification, Columbus AFB, Miss.
5. August 1996–December 1996, C-130 Replacement Training Unit, Distinguished Graduate, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
6. December 1996–March 1998, LC/C-130 Tactical Airlift and Ski-plane Pilot, 139th Airlift Squadron; Flying Executive Officer, Airdrop Pilot, Supervisor of Flying, 109th Operations Group, Stratton ANGB, Scotia, N.Y.
7. April 1998–July 1998, Student, T-38 Requalification and Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals, Columbus AFB, Miss.
8. August 1998–July 1999, F-16 Replacement Training Unit, Academic Award, Luke AFB, Ariz.
9. July 1999–December 2000, F-16 Fighter Pilot, Squadron Scheduler, Bomb Range Control Officer, Squadron Training Officer, 138th Fighter Squadron, Hancock Field, Syracuse, N.Y.
10. December 2000–March 2002, F-16 Instructor Fighter Pilot, Standardization and Evaluation Liaison Officer, 163rd Fighter Squadron; Wing Plans Officer, 122nd Fighter Wing, Fort Wayne International Airport, Ind.
11. March 2002–February 2005, Chief of Wing Safety, F-16 Instructor Fighter Pilot, 122nd Fighter Wing, Fort Wayne IAP, Ind.
12. February 2005–July 2008, Chief, Aviation Safety Division and Deputy Director, Safety, National Guard Bureau, Arlington, Va.
13. July 2008–May 2009, Student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
14. May 2009 – October 2009, Deputy Director and Faculty, U.S. Air Force Blue Horizons, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
15. October 2009–September 2011, Commander, Forward and Garrison, Detachment 1, 13th Air Expeditionary Group, JTF-Support Forces Antarctica, McMurdo Station, Antarctica; dual-hatted, Chief, Joint Operations and Plans, Joint Task Force - Support Forces Antarctica, U.S. Pacific Command, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
16. September 2011–October 2013, Air National Guard Advisor to the Commander and President, Air War College Faculty, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
17. November 2013–October 2015, National Director of Safety, Air National Guard, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Joint Base Andrews, Md.
18. October 2015–June 2017, Wing Commander, 156th Airlift Wing; Installation Commander, Muñiz ANGB, Carolina, Puerto Rico
19. June 2017–July 2018, Director for Integration, Office of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
20. August 2018–August 2019, Deputy Director, Readiness and Training; Lead, Air Force Physiological Episodes Action Team, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
21. August 2019–August 2021, Deputy Commander, Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Region, and Deputy Joint Forces Air Component Commander, 1 Canadian Air Division, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
22. August 2021–June 2023, Deputy Director, Security Cooperation, Global Partnering, and Space Capabilities, ECJ5, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany
23. June 2023–March 2024, Director of Space Operations, National Guard Bureau, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
24. April 2024–present, Executive Director, Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. October 2009–September 2011, Chief, Joint Operations and Plans; Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica, United States Indo-Pacific Command, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, as a lieutenant colonel
2. June 2017–July 2018, Director for Integration, Office of Reserve Integration, Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. as a colonel
3. August 2019–July 2021, Deputy Commander, Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Region, and Deputy Joint Forces Air Component Commander, 1 Canadian Air Division, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, as a brigadier general
4. August 2021–June 2023, Deputy Director, Security Cooperation, Global Partnering, and Space Capabilities, ECJ5, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany, as a brigadier general
5. June 2023–March 2024, Director of Space Operations, National Guard Bureau, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a major general
6. April 2024–present, Executive Director, Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a major general
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Ratings: command pilot and former navigator
Flight Hours: more than 2,700, including 205 combat hours
Aircraft Flown: F-16, C-130, A-10, WC-130, LC-130, AT-38, T-38, T-37, T-43 and T-3A
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air and Space Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award with “V” device and three oak leaf clusters
Antarctica Service Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal with bronze service star
Humanitarian Service Medal with bronze service star
(Canadian) Meritorious Service Medal with MSM post-nominal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2004 Co-creator, Project Black Mountain, joint, multi-domain tactical datalinks in U.S. Central Command area of responsibility
2006 Created the Wingman Project, which later evolved into the USAF Wingman Toolkit
2007 Chief of Staff of the Air Force Individual Safety Trophy for Wingman Project (U.S. Air Force level)
2008 Inductee to the Air Force Safety Hall of Fame (U.S. Air Force level)
2009, Paper presentation on “Case for Embedding Ethical Algorithms in Autonomous Combat Machines,” plenary session of AsMA International Science Conference, Los Angeles, Calif.
2011 Patent, Co-inventor, “U.S. Air Force method and apparatus for mitigating aircrew fatigue”
2012 Executive Producer, “Welcome to 2035 ... Age of Surprise,” U.S. Air Force Innovation Video
2018 Co-founder, USAF and Joint Physiological Episodes Action Team, NASA and U.S. Navy
(Current as of July 2024)