President Donald Trump has nominated Gen. Thomas Bussiere to serve as the U.S. Air Force’s vice chief of staff and Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton as the U.S. Space Force’s vice chief of space operations.
According to separate congressional notices, the Senate referred the nominations to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
Breaking Defense reported that if confirmed, Bussiere would succeed Gen. Jim Slife, who was relieved from his position in February. Bratton would replace Gen. Michael Guetlein, who was tapped to serve as program manager for the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense shield initiative.
Learn more about Golden Dome investment priorities during a panel discussion at the 2025 Air and Space Summit on July 31. Register now!
Who Is Gen. Thomas Bussiere?
Bussiere has been commander of Air Force Global Strike Command since December 2022. He also serves as commander of Air Forces Strategic—Air, U.S. Strategic Command at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
In his current role, the general oversees a command that provides strategic deterrence, combat support and global strike capability for U.S. Strategic Command and other geographic combatant commands.
His previous roles include deputy commander of USSTRATCOM; commander of Alaskan Command for U.S. Northern Command; and commander of the Eighth Air Force and Joint-Global Strike Operations Center.
The Norwich University graduate has logged over 3,400 flight hours in the F-15C Eagle, T-38 Talon, B-2A Spirit, B-1B Lancer and F-22 Raptor aircraft.
Who Is Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton?
Bratton has been serving as deputy chief of space operations, strategy, plans, programs and requirements in the Space Force since July 2023.
In this capacity, he serves as the Space Force’s chief strategy and resourcing officer responsible for the service branch’s strategies, requirements and budget. Prior to this role, he was head of Space Training and Readiness Command within the Space Force.
Bratton’s previous positions include deputy director of operations within U.S. Space Command; deputy director of operations, plans and training for Joint Force Space Component Command; and commander of the 175th Cyberspace Operations Group.
