Lieutenant General James H. Dickinson assumed command of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command and Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense on Jan. 5, 2017. Commissioned in 1985 as a Second Lieutenant, he has held leadership positions, from platoon leader to Commanding General of an Army Air and Missile Defense Command.

He most recently served as the Chief of Staff, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. He was previously assigned as the Director for Test at the Missile Defense Agency, Redstone Arsenal, and as Deputy to The Inspector General in the Office of the Secretary of the Army.

LTG Dickinson was the Commanding General of the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command at Fort Bliss, Texas, from July 2012 to March 2014, and Commanding General of the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, from August 2011 to July 2012.

Additional command assignments include: Battalion Commander, 1st Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, 32nd Air and Missile Defense Command, Fort Bliss, Texas, where the battalion deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; and Brigade Commander, 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Eighth United States Army, Republic of Korea.

Previous staff assignments include: Operations Officer, 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Bliss, Texas, and Operation Southern Watch, Saudi Arabia; Operations Officer, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Bliss, Texas; Senior Emergency Actions Officer and Senior Operations Officer, National Military Command Center, J-3, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.; Chief of Operations, G-3, later Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, Fort Bliss, Texas; Chief, Commander’s Initiatives Group, United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command, U.S. Forces Korea, Republic of Korea; and Deputy Director for Operations, National Military Command Center, J-3, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.

His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal (oak leaf cluster), Defense Superior Service Medal (two oak leaf clusters), Legion of Merit (two oak leaf clusters), Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two oak leaf clusters), Army Commendation Medal (two oak leaf clusters), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal (three oak leaf clusters), Parachutist Badge, Basic Space Badge, and Joint and Army Staff Identification Badges.

LTG Dickinson graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and from the Colorado School of Mines with a Master of Science in operations research and systems analysis (engineering). He later earned a master’s degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College.