Col. James T. Horne, III, USSF
Deputy Director, Assured Access to Space Directorate
United States Space Force
Deputy Director, Operations
Col James T. Horne, III is the Deputy Director, Assured Access to Space Directorate, and Deputy Director, Operations, Patrick Space Force Base, FL. He leads a team integrating space mobility plans, policy, requirements and capabilities to rapidly launch, sustain and reconstitute USSF space assets across a ~$67B portfolio encompassing 10,000+ personnel across two Services, 9 operating locations, 2 space and launch ranges, 3 tracking sites, and supports 100+ mission partner organizations.
Col Horne received his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in May 2000 and earned a Masters of Business Administration from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California in 2007. He transferred to the United States Space Force in June 2021. He has commanded the 30th Range Management Squadron at Vandenberg AFB, CA; served as Materiel Leader and Chief Engineer, Atlas V, at Los Angeles AFB, CA; and the Chief of ICBM Standardization and Evaluation and as a Minuteman III Missile Combat Crew Commander, Evaluator and Assistant Director of Operations. His acquisitions experience includes work with Tactical Data Link systems in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and Noble Eagle, as well as space launch supporting the design, development, qualification and first flights of the Atlas V rocket program. In the deployed environment he has served as a Personal Representative to Enemy Non-Combatant Detainees from the Global War on Terror, at the Joint Detention Group, Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His staff assignments include Headquarters Air Force and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Prior to his current assignment, Col Horne was the Executive Officer to the Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, CA, where he led staff functions for the 3-Star commander and Program Executive Officer for Space for an 8,000 person, $9B per year organization developing premier space capabilities for the nation.