Air Force Commander to Speak to St. Bernadette Students about Career, Faith

September 28, 2016, Omaha, Neb. – Former Vice Commander, Air Force Space Command, Major General Thomas F. Deppe will speak to students at St. Bernadette School on Friday, Sept. 30 at 9 a.m. about his illustrious military career, his Catholic faith and how science and math helped him to achieve his success. St. Bernadette School is a member of the Omaha Catholic School Consortium.

Major General Thomas F. Deppe was a vice commander, Air Force Space Command, at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, where he assisted the commander in the development, acquisition, and operation of the Air Force’s space and missile systems. General Deppe was commissioned in 1977 through Officer Training School. He has commanded a ground-launched cruise missile flight in NATO and a Minuteman II maintenance squadron in Air Combat Command. He also commanded a Minuteman III missile wing and an ICBM logistics group and was vice commander of a space launch wing in Air Force Space Command. Gen. Deppe has also served as deputy director for Operations at the National Military Command Center. He was director, Logistics and Communications, chief information officer, and chief sustainment officer, Headquarters Air Force Space Command. He is a master missileer in both operations and maintenance.

Additionally, he commanded the 90th Logistics Group at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming and the 341st Space Wing in Montana. While assigned to the National Military Command Center, he directed actions during the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Space Shuttle Columbia recovery effort. Gen. Deppe went on to command the Air Force’s land-based strategic deterrent force at 20th Air Force in Wyoming before his assignment as the vice commander of Air Force Space Command.

During General Deppe’s tenure as vice commander, Air Force Space Command, he provided inspirational leadership to over 39,000 personnel responsible for a global network of satellite command and control, communications, missile warning and space launch facilities, and ensured the combat readiness of America’s ICBM force mission.