Jay G. Santee is the vice president of Defense Architectures and Integration in the Defense Systems Group at The Aerospace Corporation. In this role, he leads the company's activities to deliver the nation's space warfighting system—an integrated system delivering a substantial, positive shift in the lethality and resilience of the nation's space forces. To fulfill this objective, Santee leads the corporation's support to the U.S. Space Command; Space Operations Command; Space Training and Readiness Command; the Space Warfare Analysis Center; the Space Security and Defense Program; Project West Wing; Space Systems Command's Space Systems Integration Office; the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capability Office; the Space Rapid Capability Office; the Space Development Agency; and the Defense Strategic Capabilities Office.
Previously, Santee was the vice president of Strategic Space Operations at Aerospace.
Prior to joining Aerospace, Santee was outcome leader for Resilient Affordable Space at MITRE, where he was responsible for directing and shaping MITRE’s contributions to the national security space enterprise’s fielding of a resilient, affordable space force.
Santee served 33 years in the United States Air Force, retiring as a major general in 2014. Santee’s last assignment was as deputy director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. In this capacity, he played a key leadership role in the removal and destruction of declared Syrian chemical weapons materials aboard the MV Cape Ray. Santee’s other assignments in the Air Force included: acting deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Space Policy, vice commander of the 14th Air Force, director of the Space Operations Center (now the Combined Space Operations Center), commander of the 21st Space Wing, and operations division chief at U.S. Space Command.
Education
Santee earned a bachelor’s degree in geography from the U.S. Air Force Academy, an MBA from Golden Gate University, and a master’s degree in national security strategy from the National War College. Santee also completed the Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Awards and Honors
Santee was awarded the 2014 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and was invested as a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honor), France’s highest honor, in 2012.
Affiliations
Santee is an associate fellow with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.