SPEAKER

Robert W. Thomas Jr. is the Associate Director, Capability and Resource Integration Directorate, United States Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. He is responsible for establishing the command’s requirements and advocating for the assigned missions of strategic deterrence, global strike, space operations, information operations, integrated missile defense, combating weapons of mass destruction and global command, control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Robert Thomas

Associate Director, Capability and Resource Integration Directorate
U.S. Strategic Command

Robert W. Thomas Jr. is the Associate Director, Capability and Resource Integration Directorate, United States Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. He is responsible for establishing the command’s requirements and advocating for the assigned missions of strategic deterrence, global strike, space operations, information operations, integrated missile defense, combating weapons of mass destruction and global command, control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Mr. Thomas graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Management Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and received a military commission via the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1994. He holds master’s degrees from Naval Postgraduate School (Leadership and Human Resource Development) and the Air Force’s Air University (Military Operations).

His 20-year Navy career included three tours on both attack and ballistic missile submarines, concluding as the
Executive Officer on USS Maine SSBN-741 (Blue) in 2009. He also served as a Company Officer and instructor at the
U.S. Naval Academy from 1999-2002 and as Carrier Strike Group TEN’s Training Officer and Submarine Element
Coordinator from 2005-2006. Since arriving at USSTRATCOM in 2009, he has held various positions in the Capability and Resource Integration Directorate and has worked on a number of nuclear delivery and weapon sustainment and modernization programs, including the Columbia-class SSBN, Ground Based Strategic Deterrent ICBM, Long Range Standoff Cruise Missile and the B-21 bomber.

Mr. Thomas also functions in a cross-directorate team advising the combatant commander on a range of policy issues spanning force posture and employment, system modernization, and sustainment and life extension programs. Mr. Thomas participated in the formulation of military advice to senior policy makers during the 2010 and 2018 Nuclear Posture Reviews and supported the New START arms-control negotiations and implementation.


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