The Pentagon has nominated Maj. Gen. Philip A. Garrant for a promotion to three-star general and to take on the job of Space Force deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs, and requirements.
If confirmed, Garrant would be just the seventh lieutenant general in the Space Force. The new service has been building up its small general officer corps in recent months, with five new brigadier generals confirmed in May.
As the deputy chief for strategy, plans, programs, and requirements, Garrant would also be responsible for the USSF’s budget, all in all an expansive portfolio that is slated to grow in the years ahead.
Lt. Gen. William J. Liquori Jr. currently serves as deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs, requirements, and analysis. A Space Force spokesperson could not immediately tell Air Force Magazine whether Garrant’s slightly different title means the position is changing or splitting into multiple roles, or what Liquori’s next position might be.
Garrant currently serves as the program executive for ground-based weapon systems at the Missile Defense Agency. In that role, he oversees a portfolio that includes the “Ground-based Midcourse Defense, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, four Joint U.S. and Israeli programs, and several classified programs collectively valued at more than $3.4 billion annually,” according to his official bio.
At the MDA, Garrant was promoted to the rank of major general in 2020.
Prior to that, Garrant had spent the better part of a decade working at the Space and Missile Systems Center—now Space Systems Command—in various roles across two different stints, culminating as vice commander of the center.
In addition to Garrant, another Department of the Air Force major general is in line for a promotion. Maj. Gen. Donna D. Shipton has been nominated to be the military deputy to the assistant secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics. Shipton currently serves as deputy director at the National Reconnaissance Office. If confirmed, she will succeed Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, who recently took command of Air Force Materiel Command.