Colonel Jonathan L. Whitaker is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSpCC) Chief of Staff, and Director, NATO Space Operations Centre (NSpOC), Ramstein Base, Germany. A career Space Officer, he is the principal space adviser to the Commander CFSpCC. Colonel Whitaker leads a globally distributed Space Component Staff responsible for the command and control of NATO-assigned space forces. As NSpOC Director, he oversees the Space Domain Awareness and Space Security mission for NATO. Colonel Whitaker entered the Air Force in 2002 as a graduate of Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Mississippi State University. He has served in various space operations and intelligence assignments as an operator, staff officer, operations officer, and commander. He is a fully qualified Joint Service Officer, and prior to assuming his current position, Colonel Whitaker served as the Director of Space Forces for United States Southern Command.