Brig. Gen. Joseph C. Turnham serves as the Deputy Director of Operations for the North American Aerospace Defense Command at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. In this role he has the privilege of leading an incredible joint, bi-national team executing aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning to defend the United States and Canada.
Brig. Gen. Turnham comes from a long line of veterans going back to the American Revolution. After growing up in the Air Force he received his commission through Officer Training School. Since then, he’s served multiple operational tours in the Pacific, Europe and Middle East. Brig. Gen. Turnham is a joint service officer who commanded at the flight, squadron, group and wing levels. He is a command pilot with nearly 3,500 hours in the A-10, including 1,149 combat hours over Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
EDUCATION
1995 Bachelor of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2006 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2009 United States Air Force Weapons Instructor Course, Nellis AFB, Nev.
2011 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2011 Master of Military Operational Art and Science, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2013 Joint Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2014 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2018 Fellow, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2019 National Security Fellow, Maxwell School of Public Affairs, Syracuse University, N.Y.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 2000–March 2002, Student Pilot, Euro-NATO Joint Pilot Training, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas
2. April 2002–October 2002, A-10 Student Pilot, 357th Fighter Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
3. November 2002–June 2005, A-10 Flight Lead and Battalion Air Liaison Officer, 355th Fighter Squadron, Eielson AFB, Alaska
4. July 2005–July 2008, A-10 Evaluator Pilot and Flight Commander, 81st Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany
5. July 2008–July 2010, A-10 Instructor Pilot and Operational Test Pilot, 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, Nellis AFB, Nev.
6. July 2010–March 2011, Chief of Weapons and Tactics, 25th Fighter Squadron, Osan Air Base, South Korea
7. March 2011–November 2012, Chief of Weapons and Tactics, 51st Operational Support Squadron, Osan AB, South Korea
8. November 2012–December 2014, Deputy Division Chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.
9. January 2015–March 2017, Commander, 357th Fighter Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
10. March 2017–July 2017, Deputy Group Commander, 355th Operations Group, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
11. July 2017–July 2018, Air Force Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
12. July 2018–July 2019, Director of Training and Exercises, 9th Air Force, Shaw AFB, S.C.
13. July 2019–September 2019, Vice Wing Commander, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing, Kabul, Afghanistan
14. October 2019–June 2020, Commander, NATO Train Advise Assist Command-Air, Kabul, Afghanistan
15. June 2020–June 2022, Commander, 355th Wing, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
16. July 2022–September 2022, Chief of Operations, NORAD and USNORTHCOM Joint Operations Center, Peterson SFB, Colo.
17. October 2022–October 2024, Director, Joint Operations Center, NORAD and USNORTHCOM, Peterson SFB, Colo.
18. October 2024–September 2025, Vice Director of Operations, NORAD, Peterson SFB, Colo.
19. October 2025–present, Deputy Director of Operations, NORAD, Peterson SFB, Colo.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. November 2012–December 2014, Deputy Division Chief and Executive Officer, Science and Technology Directorate, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., as a major and lieutenant colonel
2. July 2022–September 2025, Chief of Operations and Joint Operations Center Director, NORAD and USNORTHCOM; and Vice Director of Operations, NORAD, Peterson Space Force Base, Colo., as a colonel
3. October 2025–present, Deputy Director of Operations, NORAD, Peterson SFB, Colo., as a brigadier general
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: command pilot
Flight hours: 3,877
Aircraft flown: A-10A, A-10C, A-29, AC-208, HC-130J and HH-60G
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star
Air Medal with thirteen oak leaf clusters
Air Force Combat Action Medal
PUBLICATIONS
"Digital Air-to-Ground Integration in Afghanistan," Fires, March-April 2012
(Current as of February 2026)