The U.S. Senate recently confirmed Gen. Michael Guetlein as the first direct reporting program manager for the Golden Dome for America project.
Guetlein will report directly to U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg. Officials said. Guetlein will be responsible for developing the Golden Dome portfolio of capabilities, officials said.
“Golden Dome for America requires a whole-of-nation response to deter and, if necessary, to defeat attacks against the United States. We have the technological foundation, national talent, and decisive leadership to advance our nation’s defenses. We are proud to stand behind Gen. Mike Guetlein as he takes the helm of this national imperative,” the U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement.
The Golden Dome for America project is touted to be a “layered defense” of the United States to protect “the American people against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next generation aerial attacks from near-peer and rogue nations,” the DoD said. The Office of the Golden Dome for America, which Guetlein will lead, is charged with establishing partnerships with key stakeholders, like industry, academia, national labs and other government agencies, to develop an architecture for the program, as well as to develop and implement defensive capabilities. The DoD said the government plans to present the “objective architecture” of the program within the next 60 days.
Guetlein is a four-star general who also serves as the Vice Chief of Space Operations for the U. S. Space Force. He was commissioned through the ROTC program at Oklahoma State University in 1991, and has commanded and led at the flight, squadron, division, directorate, Program Executive Officer and Field Command levels. Guetlein has a Master of Business Administration from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio; a Master of Organizational Management from the George Washinton University in Washington, D.C.; and a Master of National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College in Newport Naval Station, in Rhode Island.
The Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026 approved by the House of Representatives allocates approximately $13 billion for missile defense and space programs to augment and integrate in support of the Golden Dome effort.