The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has named Ashton Barnes as deputy chief of space operations. Barnes, who announced the appointment in a LinkedIn post on Monday, brings with him five years of service in the U.S. Space Force.
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He assumed the NGA role in July after serving in multiple operational and leadership positions within the Space Force.
Ashton Barnes’ Space Force Career
Barnes commissioned into the Space Force in 2020 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a degree in systems engineering focused on human factors. He was first assigned as a student at the 533rd Training Squadron, where he earned the Academic Achievement Award for maintaining a 99 percent average throughout the Officer Undergraduate Space Training course. He later became a mission planner, developing orbital flight tests to validate space tactics and ensure the delivery of effective and lethal space capabilities to the warfighting community.
In August 2021, Barnes was promoted to test director and led a team responsible for the integrated test and evaluation of next-generation weapons systems. He was recognized as the 2021 Tester of the Year and received the Space Training and Readiness Command Gene Kranz Jr Officer Leadership Award at the time.
He later served as an executive officer and, most recently, as deputy chief of training, overseeing the development and delivery of training programs for more than 100 squadron members and managing a team of trainers and instructional designers.
The new NGA deputy chief of space operations holds certifications in continuous process improvement, systems acquisition management and systems engineering.
