Bussiere, Bratton Tapped For Air Force and Space Force Vice Chief Roles

The Air Force and Space Force are both set to have new No. 2 officers. Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere has been nominated for Air Force Vice Chief of Staff and Lt. Gen. Shawn N. Bratton has been nominated to receive a fourth star as the Vice Chief of Space Operations.

President Donald Trump announced the appointments July 15, according to a Congressional notices. Both positions require Senate confirmation, and the nominations have been referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

Bussiere is currently the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees the nation’s land-based nuclear missiles and its fleet of bombers. The career B-2 pilot has held numerous Air Force and joint leadership positions within the Pentagon’s nuclear enterprise throughout his career. Bussiere has been in his current role since December 2022. The Air Force has been without a Vice Chief since February, when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth removed Gen. James C. Slife from his position, along with then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.

Bussiere’s nomination comes as the Pentagon is modernizing all three legs of its nuclear triad as well as the command and control of its nuclear forces, much of which falls to the Air Force. The service is preparing to field the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, which is currently in testing, and the LGM-35A Sentinel, slated to replace over 400 fielded Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. The B-21 is on track, but Sentinel faces large cost overruns and delays. Lt. Gen. Scott L. Pleus, the Director of Staff, has been serving as the acting VCSAF.

If confirmed, Bussiere would serve as deputy to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin.

The Space Force’s No. 2 job, in contrast, opened up recently. Current Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael A. Guetlein was tapped by Trump in May to lead his Golden Dome missile defense initiative. He was formally nominated to the newly created “direct reporting program manager for Golden Dome for America” role in June. Guetlein is awaiting Senate confirmation for that role.

Bratton has been heavily involved in shaping the Space Force’s identity, capabilities, and the development of Guardians. He currently serves as the Space Force’s strategy, requirements, and budget czar, a position he has held since July 2023. Along with Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, he helped develop the service’s recently unveiled Space Warfighting framework. Bratton previously served as the first commander of Space Training and Readiness Command, which oversees the service’s doctrine, testing, and training. 

The Space Force has been advocating for more resources as it takes on an increasing number of responsibilities across the DOD. That looks set to grow even more under Golden Dome, as much of the nation’s key missile warning capabilities are space-based, and the Pentagon has proposed moving more terrestrial capabilities, such as targeting, to space-based assets. The Space Force is also moving to counter Russian and Chinese weapons that could threaten America’s satellites and develop “counter-space” capabilities of its own.