Driving Decision Advantage: Shannon Pallone Leads USSF BMC3I Portfolio as New SES

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  • Space Systems Command
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. --  Tenured space industry leader, Ms. Shannon Pallone, was welcomed to the ranks of the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service May 29 during a promotion ceremony at Space Systems Command headquarters at the Los Angeles Air Force Base (LA AFB), in El Segundo, Calif. Pallone’s promotion solidifies her role as the U.S. Space Force portfolio acquisition executive for Battle Management, Command, Control, Communication, and Space Intelligence (BMC3I).

Pallone’s leadership continues to shape the future of an $8.5 billion BMC3I portfolio, which includes a diverse set of mission areas encompassing battle management, data service, satellite control, space intelligence, and space domain awareness. Her strategic vision ensures seamless and timely integration for the future of multi-domain warfighting.

“We are an organization that relentlessly develops talent, values expertise, embraces accountability, learns from failure, and executes with urgency,” said Pallone. “It’s all about decision advantage with speed and scale.”

What began as a junior level position at Space Systems Command’s predecessor organization has spanned more than 16 years of program management progression which has culminated in Pallone’s ascension to the executive ranks; all achieved in space programs at LA AFB. While unusual, not completely impossible, she noted.

“I cannot tell you how excited I am to have somebody who has grown up here in Los Angeles make it to SES,” said USSF Lt. Gen. Steven Whitney, director, Force Structure, Resources, and Assessment on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, who presided over the ceremony. Whitney exclaimed the importance of these programs as the “capabilities we need for our warfighters.”

“Shannon personifies exactly the leader that the U.S. Space Force requires to drive our capabilities and our mission,” said USSF Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, commander of Space Systems Command. “Throughout her career and especially today, in an organization where speed and change are foundational for our Nation’s superiority in space, Shannon demonstrates every day the expertise, unwavering character , and adaptability that will continue to guide her team’s and her portfolio’s future for success.”

Prior to BMC3I, Pallone made her name in the Military Satellite Communications portfolio of programs; namely the Protected Tactical Satellite Communications in both materiel and senior materiel leadership roles.

“As the Space Force Portfolio Acquisition Executive for BMC3I, Shannon’s depth of experience and perspective on these integral programs enables her to lead the rapid delivery of capabilities for our nation,” said Thomas Ainsworth, acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration.

Pallone holds a Master of Pacific International Affairs from the University of California San Diego, Calif., and a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Duke University, Durham, N.C. She graduated from the University of Southern California’s SHIELD Executive Program in Global Space and Deterrence in 2023. USC’s SHIELD is a joint executive education program with the Price School of Public Policy and Viterbi School of Engineering focusing on Space, History, Industry, Engineering, Leadership and Deterrence.

 

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