Brig. Gen. Nathan D. Yates is Special Assistant to the Commander, Space Training and Readiness Command, and Lead for the US Space Force Guardian Campus Working Group. As a member of the executive staff, he leads future consolidated training requirements along with infrastructure development for all officer, enlisted, and civilian Guardian training and education. Prior to his current position, he was Assistant Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Headquarters United States Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia.
Brig. Gen. Yates was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1994. He served on active duty from 1995-2002 and has since served in the Air Force Reserve in both part-time and full-time status. Brig. Gen. Yates is a Command Space Operator and Instructor/Evaluator with operational experience in Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Operations, Satellite Command and Control, Strategic/Theater Missile Warning, and Joint Space Operations Command and Control. In his civilian capacity, Brig. Gen. Yates served as tenure-track faculty at two renown universities and is the author of award-winning research which has been cited over 1,000 times in peer-reviewed academic literature.
EDUCATION
1994 Bachelor of Science, Systems Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
1997 Master of Science - Management, Troy State University, Troy, Ala.
2000 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2007 Doctor of Philosophy, Information Systems, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
2010 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, by correspondence
2014 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, by correspondence
2016 Joint and Combined Warfighting School, by hybrid
2019 NATO Senior Reserve Officers Course, Oberammergau, Germany
2022 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2023 Artificial Intelligence for National Security, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
2025 Senior Joint Information Operations Applications Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2025 Leading Data and Artificial Intelligence Enabled Organizations, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 1995–September 1995, Undergraduate Space and Missile Training and Undergraduate Missile Training, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
2. September 1995–December 1999, ICBM Operations Instructor/Evaluator/Missile Combat Crew Commander, 341st Operations Group, 10th Missile Squadron and 341st Operations Support Squadron, Malmstrom AFB, Mont.
3. December 1999–February 2002, Evaluator/Crew Commander, Satellite Command and Control, 50th Operations Group and 3rd Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB, Colo.
4. March 2002–February 2007, Chief, Space Based Infra-Red System (SBIRS) Warfighter Interoperability, SBIRS Program Office, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
5. February 2007–September 2011, Individual Mobilization Assistant to the Chief, Current Operations and Crisis Response Branch, Secretary of the Air Force Office of Information Dominance and CIO, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
6. September 2011–June 2013, Chief, Operations Employment Branch, 9th Space Operations Squadron, with duties as the Technical Director, Joint Space Operations Center, Vandenberg AFB, Colo.
7. June 2013–March 2014, Director of Operations, 8th Space Warning Squadron, Buckley AFB, Colo.
8. March 2014–March 2015, Commander, 8th Space Warning Squadron, Buckley AFB, Colo.
9. March 2015–July 2017, Deputy Commander, 310th Operations Group, Schriever AFB, Colo.
10. July 2017–July 2020, Commander, Headquarters, Individual Reservist Readiness & Integration Organization, Detachment 8, Patch Barracks, United States Army Garrison, Stuttgart, Germany.
11. July 2020–January 2023, Reserve Advisor, Office of the Chief of Space Operations, Headquarters United States Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
12. January 2023–May 2026, Assistant Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Headquarters United States Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
13. June 2026–present, Special Assistant to the Commander, Headquarters Space Training and Readiness Command, Patrick SFB, Fla.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with five oak leaf clusters
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal
Combat Readiness Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1998 Air Force Space Command Crew Member Excellence Award
1999 Distinguished Graduate, DSCS III Satellite Vehicle Operator IQT
2010 Reserve Officer of the Year, Secretary of the Air Force Office of Information Dominance and CIO
2013 Superior Academic Achievement Award, SBIRS Mission IQT
(Current as of June 2026)