North Texan commissioned as first Space Force cyber warfare officer
DALLAS - A graduate of UT Dallas made history in the United States Space Force on Sunday.
Jessica Thompson was commissioned as a lieutenant and the first cyber warfare officer in the history of the U.S. Space Command. It’s the country’s newest military branch that was formed less than three years ago.
Thompson is an Air Force veteran who has also worked in the private banking sector. And while earning two master’s degrees, she worked as a teaching assistant at UT Dallas.
"The Space Force is by far the smallest service right now. I think we’re around 8,000 uniformed military personnel. But we’re only going to grow to maybe around 16,000. Much smaller than the other services, so we have to be very selective on who we bring in," said Col. John Smail.
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"It’s just such an honor. I feel like all of my experiences in the civilian and military world came together at the perfect time and I’m just really grateful for everyone who supported me and that they created this opportunity," Lt. Thompson said.
The Space Force is commissioning qualified civilian cybersecurity professionals directly into the service as officers, even without prior military experience.