Donald Jason Cothern (born November 12, 1970) is a brigadier general in the United States Space Force currently serving as the deputy commander of the Space Systems Command. He transferred to the Space Force from the United States Air Force in May 2021. Prior to his current assignment, he was the assistant program director for development at the F-35 Lighting II Joint Program Office, where he was responsible for F-35 fighter fifth generation modernization activities. Cothern was commissioned in 1993 as an ROTC graduate of the University of Central Florida. He served as the director of the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program and the Air Force's Hosted Payloads Office. As STP director, he also led the Rocket Systems Launch Program, where he was mission director for the DoD's first SpaceX Falcon 9 launch that flew NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite in February 2015. Education 1993 Bachelor of Science, aerospace engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando 1998 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. 2000 Master of Business Administration, California State University, Long Beach 2002 Master of Science, Organizational Leadership, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 2006 Master of Military Operational Arts and Science, Air Command and Staff College, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 2009 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence 2009 The Program Manager's Course, Defense Acquisition University, Fort Belvoir, Va. 2012 Master of National Resource Strategy, The Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. Assignments 1. September 1993–August 1995, Program Manager, 50th Logistics Support Squadron, Schreiver Air Force Base, Colo. 2. August 1995–July 1996, Executive Officer, 50th Logistics Group, Schreiver AFB, Colo. 3. July 1996–March 1998, Program Manager, Milstar Operations Support Division, Military Satellite Communications Joint Program Office, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif. 4. March 1998–July 2000, Chief, Military Satellite Communications Programs Planning Branch, Military Satellite Communications Joint Program Office, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif. 5. July 2000–June 2002, Student, United States Air Force Intern Program, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. 6. June 2002–July 2005, Chief, Satellite Command and Control Branch, then Program Manager, Missile Warning Systems, Space Systems Program Office, Signals Intelligence Directorate, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Va. 7. July 2005–June 2006, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 8. June 2006–June 2008, Deputy Chief,