Anthony J. Cotton

Anthony Cotton
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1986–present
Rank	General
Commands	United States Strategic Command Air Force Global Strike Command Air Forces Strategic - Air, U.S. Strategic Command Air University Twentieth Air Force 45th Space Wing 341st Missile Wing 45th Operations Group
Awards	Air Force Distinguished Service Medal (2) Defense Superior Service Medal (2) Legion of Merit (2)
Alma mater	North Carolina State University (BA) Central Michigan University (MS)

Anthony James Cotton ^[1] is a United States Air Force four-star general who serves as the 12th commander of the United States Strategic Command since 9 December 2022. He most recently served as the commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command from 27 August 2021 to 7 December 2022, having served as the deputy commander from 2019 to 2021. ^[2] Prior to that, he was the president of the Air University. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

Cotton is from Dudley, North Carolina, where he graduated from Southern Wayne High School in 1981. He is the son of James H. and Amy K. Cotton; his father was a chief master sergeant in the Air Force. ^[7] Anthony Cotton was commissioned through ROTC at North Carolina State University in 1986, where he also earned a bachelor's degree in political science. ^[7] Prior to his AFGSC service, Cotton commanded the 20th Air Force, served as deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, and was senior military assistant to the under secretary of defense for intelligence. ^[8]

In June 2022, Cotton was nominated for reappointment as general and assignment as commander of the United States Strategic Command. ^{[9] [10] [11]} He appeared for a hearing before the Senate Committee on Armed Services on 15 September 2022 ^[12] and was confirmed by voice vote of the full Senate on 29 September 2022. ^[10] He assumed command on 9 December 2022. ^{[13] [14]}

Awards and decorations

Gen Cotton (right) relieves ADM Charles A. Richard (second from left) as the commander of United States Strategic Command on 9 December 2022.

	Command Space Operations Badge
	Command Missile Operations Badge
	Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge
	Headquarters Air Force Badge

	Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Defense Superior Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
	Defense Meritorious Service Medal
	Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
	Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
	Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters
	Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
	National Reconnaissance Office Distinguished Service Medal (gold medal)
	Combat Readiness Medal with oak leaf cluster
	National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
	Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
	Air and Space Campaign Medal
	Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal with "N" device
	Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters
	Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon with service star
	Air Force Training Ribbon

Effective dates of promotions

Cotton is pinned with his four-star rank insignia by his family at his promotion ceremony, August 27, 2021.

Rank	Date [2]
Second lieutenant	7 June 1986
First lieutenant	7 June 1988
Captain	7 June 1990
Major	1 March 1998
Lieutenant colonel	1 March 2002
Colonel	1 December 2006
Brigadier general	10 November 2011
Major general	6 July 2015
Lieutenant general	15 February 2018
General	27 August 2021

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States government .

1. "97th Annual Commencement" (PDF). North Carolina State University. 1986. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
2. "General Anthony J. Cotton". United States Air Force. August 2021. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
3. Harper, Brad (12 December 2019). "Air University leader has been nominated for Air Global Strike Command position in Louisiana". Montgomery Advertiser . Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
4. Ramsouer, Tammie (15 February 2018). "Lt. Gen. Cotton assumes command of Air University". Maxwell Air Force Base . Archived from the original on 12 June 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
5. "PN741 – Lt. Gen. Anthony J. Cotton – Air Force, 117th Congress (2021–2022)". U.S. Congress. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
6. Cohen, Rachel (24 June 2021). "Cotton nominated to run Air Force's nuclear enterprise at pivotal time". Military Times. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
7. Calkins, Christopher (30 August 2011). "Cotton: Stay sharp; Our mission demands it". 45th Space Wing Public Affairs, Air Force Space Command. Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
8. Leishman, Angeline (28 June 2021). "Lt. Gen. Anthony Cotton Nominated to Lead AF Global Strike Command". executivegov.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
9. "Nominee Says Strategic Command Must Deal With Changing World". U.S. Department of Defense. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
10. "PN2229 — Gen. Anthony J. Cotton — Air Force, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". U.S. Congress. 29 September 2022. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
11. "General Officer Announcements". U.S. Department of Defense. 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
12. "Nomination - Cotton". U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services. 15 September 2022. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
13. United States Strategic Command [@US_STRATCOM] (3 December 2022). "One week from today, @USNavy Admiral Charles A. Richard will relinquish command of #USSTRATCOM to @usairforce General Anthony J. Cotton" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 December 2022– via Twitter.
14. Garamone, Jim (9 December 2022). "Stratcom Gets New Leader". U.S. Department of Defense. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2022.

External links

• Media related to Anthony J. Cotton at Wikimedia Commons

Military offices
Preceded by Michael E. Fortney	Commander of the 341st Missile Wing 2010–2011	Succeeded by Heraldo Brual
Preceded by B. Edwin Wilson	Commander of the 45th Space Wing 2011–2013	Succeeded by Nina Armagno
Preceded by Susan K. Mashiko	Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office 2013–2015	Succeeded by Stephen Denker
Preceded by Jack Weinstein	Commander of the Twentieth Air Force 2015–2018	Succeeded by Ferdinand Stoss
Preceded by Michael Rothstein Acting	Commander and President of the Air University 2018–2019	Succeeded by Brad M. Sullivan Acting
Preceded by Vito Addabbo	Deputy Commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command 2019–2021	Succeeded by Mark E. Weatherington
Preceded by Timothy Ray	Commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command 2021–2022	Succeeded by Thomas A. Bussiere
Preceded by Charles A. Richard	Commander of the United States Strategic Command 2022–present	Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Bryan P. Fenton as Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command	Order of precedence of the United States as Commander of U.S. Strategic Command	Succeeded by Stephen N. Whiting as Commander of U.S. Space Command