EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Ms. Joy White retired from her role as executive director of Space Systems Command (SSC) May 29, 2025, following a distinguished 40-year career in the United States federal service. White retired as a member of the Senior Executive Service, the civilian equivalent of a general officer in the armed forces. White was recognized for her service during a ceremonial event held at Space Systems Command headquarters at Los Angeles Air Force Base.
In a testament to the impact she had on others throughout her career, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. John “JT” Thompson, former commander of SSC’s predecessor, Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), traveled from his home in Oakwood, Ohio, to host her ceremony and personally present to her the Department of the Air Force Outstanding Civilian Career Service Award and the U.S. Space Force certificate of achievement. White’s three sons, Dan, Sam, and Nick, presented her with a pin commemorating her 40 years of service. Ms. White then presented her husband of 32 years, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Randall White, with a certificate of appreciation recognizing his support throughout her career.
Thompson delivered wide-ranging remarks to those in attendance, from admiring White’s lifetime of achievements, to fondly reminiscing on their time serving together as leaders of then SMC, and concluding with the lasting impact she had made:
“Your leadership, the mentorship that you have provided generations of people across the Air Force and Space Force will always be remembered, because all of those things that you did for other people—peers, subordinates, and superiors—they'll remember, and they'll pass it on to their peers, and subordinates and superiors.”
White’s career included serving as the senior civilian at Space Systems Command and its predecessor SMC for nine years. In that time, she oversaw two massive transformations at the birthplace of military space. Throughout her tenure, White championed SMC 2.0, a strategy for rapid space acquisition of cutting-edge capability which received high praise from the Vice President, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of the Air Force. She also saw the transition from Space and Missile Systems Center to Space Systems Command, the U.S. Space Force field commands responsible for acquiring and delivering resilient war fighting capabilities to protect our Nation’s strategic advantage in, from, and to space.
White stood up the Space Enterprise Consortium, which has now delivered over $2 billion in new capabilities while also bringing new and small business contractors into the defense industry, in turn increasing competition -- a theme throughout her career. She also contributed significantly over the years to numerous systems that are now the backbone of the Nation’s space capabilities, including the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, missile warning systems, and protected Satellite Communication (SATCOM) systems. More recently, she was pivotal in the stand-up of the Commercial SATCOM Office (COMSO) in the Space Force, and game-changing allied partnerships with Norway and Japan.
White originally joined the civil service as a GS-2 clerk/typist. She entered the contracting career field in 1985 as a Copper Cap intern supporting numerous space programs, later earning her unlimited contracting officer warrant upon the end of her internship and going on to support the Global Positioning System (GPS) program as a GS-13.
Prior to her tenure as SSC executive director, White served as the director of contracting of SMC and before that, deputy director of contracting for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). In both roles, White led hundreds of contracting professionals to deliver critical capability to the warfighter.
While she had numerous accomplishments, including the Presidential Rank Award, she cited the best part of her career as ‘taking care of the workforce’. Her focus on intern development, building the team, and guiding talent management was her passion and always at the forefront of her endeavors.
“It's incredible to me that it's been 40 years,” said White. “40 years of work, but so much more, some incredible wins, spectacular losses, tough negotiations, late night grinds, all of which was made, not just bearable, but inspiring because of the leaders and the colleagues who all became friends all along the way.”
White’s previous assignments also included director of contract policy and review for MDA, procurement analyst for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, and deputy director for the Air Force Contracting Information Systems Office.
White was born at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, where her father was an Air Force pilot and acquisition officer. She received her Bachelor of Business Science from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, and a Master of Business Administration from Averett College, Danville, Virginia. In 2006, White was a Senior Executive Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
At the end of the ceremony, in staying true to character, White spent most of her time expressing gratitude and admiration for the entire SSC workforce, singling out organizations from Atlas IT, to longtime PA photographer Van Ha, to rising acquisition officers. She concluded her remarks with a stirring reminder:
“One thing is for sure. Change has become a constant, and no matter what the structure of an organization, it's the people that deliver its aspirations. Please hang in there and take care of each other and know that I'll be cheering you on. Semper supra, everyone.”
Following White’s ceremony, a receiving line was held where current and former colleagues, retired senior executives, generals, and community members congratulated White alongside her husband and sons, mother, sister and brother-in-law, father-in-law and other members of her extended family. A reception followed with distinguished guests attending in her honor.