General Mike Guetlein
Director, Golden Dome for America
As the Director of Golden Dome for America, Gen. Mike Guetlein is responsible for building a comprehensive, layered defense of the homeland to ensure the safety of the American people against ballistic, hypersonic, and advanced cruise missiles, as well as other next-generation aerial threats from near-peer and rogue nations.
Reporting directly to the Deputy Secretary of War, in this pivotal executive role, he leads the development of the $185 billion Golden Dome for America portfolio, forging aggressive partnerships across industry, academia, national laboratories, and government agencies to rapidly develop and field capabilities and next-generation technology.
Commissioned in 1991 through the ROTC program at Oklahoma State University, Gen. Guetlein brings more than three and a half decades of unparalleled engineering and warfighting expertise to his current mandate. His diverse military career spans air and space operations, with deep experience in special operations, global power projection, missile warning and detection, counterspace missions, and acquisitions. A proven leader and change agent, he has commanded and directed operations at every organizational level, from tactical units and massive enterprise acquisitions to the highest levels of service leadership.
His notable assignments include serving as the Vice Chief of Space Operations for the United States Space Force; Commander of Space Systems Command; Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office; Program Executive for Programs and Integration at the Missile Defense Agency; and Director of Remote Sensing Systems.
Reflecting his commitment to bridging the gap between military strategy and commercial innovation, Gen. Guetlein also served as a Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow, an experience that heavily influences his current drive to break down bureaucratic barriers and partner with the private sector to deliver capabilities at the speed of relevance.
