James Chappelear

"Ever since I was a child, I’ve always had a drive to serve our country...I was commissioned in the Air Force in 1994 and served active duty for almost 26 years as an Intelligence Officer, so I got my start in the IC there. I retired last June as an Air Force Colonel, and I feel fortunate to have been hired as program manager for The Buffalo Group’s Intelligence Support Contract for United States Space Command Directorate of Intelligence (J2) and have been with the company almost one year. I’ve served in a myriad of positions during my time in uniform, most recently to include Chief of Staff, Intelligence Directorate at NORAD and USNORTHCOM. Prior to that, I served as Mission Support Deputy Director for NORTHCOM J2 and spent a year deployed in Kuwait as Operation Inherent Resolve J2 Chief of Targeting. As a career intelligence officer with a background in Special Operations, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), and Targeting, I have commanded at the Squadron level and am a fully qualified Joint Staff Officer. My staff tours have included Joint Functional Component Command for Global Strike Directorate of Intelligence, U.S. Strategic Command, Director of ISR, Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan, and Director of Intelligence, Special Operations Command, North, U.S. Special Operations Command. As an intelligence officer, I’ve deployed multiple times over my career in support of joint air and special operations."

"Building out a team to support the standup of SPACECOM J2 has been a career highlight for me thus far. In this role I’ve had the opportunity to lead a diverse team ensuring critical support to the SPACECOM intelligence mission. In this capacity, I’ve been able hire impressive intelligence professionals working everyday to prepare our nation to conduct operations in, from and to space to deter conflict, and, if necessary, defeat aggression, deliver space combat power for the Joint/Combined Force and defend U.S. vital interests with allies and partners."

"I believe that defending our national interests in space and cyberspace will remain a key focus area for the future. Although I know that I’m biased, I believe that defending our freedom of maneuver in space is critical because space impacts almost all facets of our lives today and as the SPACECOM Commander’s strategy states “a day without space” would have significant impacts to our daily life."

"My advice would be to make good choices. A career in the IC can be tremendously rewarding, but we need a diverse, inclusive workforce with impeccable character to help defend our nation and our way of life. To qualify to be in the IC, we need a workforce built on integrity and character, so It’s important to make good choices that will enable entry into such an important career."

Favorite TV show: For All Mankind on Apple TV. It’s been fascinating watching a fictional series about what would have happened if America hadn’t been the first humans on the moon, and if we had entered an arms race on the moon with the former Soviet Union.