Maj. Gen. Julian C. Cheater is the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, Department of the Air Force, Arlington, Virginia. In this position, he provides oversight and guidance for U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force international policy and programs supporting national security objectives through a broad security cooperation portfolio. These security cooperation activities include political-military affairs, security assistance programs, technology and information disclosure, education and training, exercises, cooperative research and development, senior leader engagements, and the Air Force Foreign Liaison Office. Maj. Gen. Cheater also assists in managing 378 cooperative research, development, test, and evaluation agreements valued at $80.5 billion, as well as 3,400 foreign military sales cases valued at nearly $250 billion. Additionally, he chairs the developmental team, managing more than 400 U.S. Air Force Foreign Area Officers serving in 120 countries, and he leads more than 175 military exchange Airmen and Guardians in 38 partner nations.
Maj. Gen. Cheater received his commission from the Air Force Academy in 1994. He has commanded at the squadron, group, wing, and headquarters levels and is a command pilot with more than 3,700 hours in seven aircraft types. His combat experience includes flying in operations Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, Freedom’s Sentinel, Inherent Resolve, Nomad Shadow, Jukebox Lotus, Juniper Garrett and Copper Dune. Additionally, he was in the first class of political-military strategists and was a national finalist for the White House Fellowship.
Maj. Gen. Cheater commanded the 432nd Wing and the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing. Immediately prior to his current position, he served in Joint positions while assigned to the Joint Staff J-3 Directorate followed by a deployment supporting Special Operations Command Central.
EDUCATION
1994 Bachelor of Science, Political Science, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2001 Distinguished Graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2007 Distinguished Graduate, Master of Military Operational Art and Science, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2008 Master of Airpower Arts and Sciences, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2009 Distinguished Graduate, Master of Aviation Science, Aeronautics Specialization, Embry-Riddle University, Daytona Beach, Fla.
2009 Air War College, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2013 Graduate with honors, Associate of Arts, Spanish, Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, Calif.
2014 Dual master's degrees in Defense and Security, Distinción Unánime, highest honors, Academia Nacional de Estudios Políticos y Estratégicos, Santiago, Chile; 2nd: Inter-American Defense College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2015 Joint Professional Military Education II, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2016 Leadership Development Program, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2019 Fellow, Capstone General and Flag Officer Course, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2020 Middle East and South Asia Seminar, Alan L. Freed Associates, Washington, D.C.
2021 Combined Forces Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2021-2022 Air Force Executive Leadership Coaching Program, Flatter Inc., Fredericksburg, Va.
2022 Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, LeMay Center, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2022 Advanced Senior Leader Development Seminar, Warrenton, Va.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1994–December 1994, Assistant Executive Officer, Department of Political Science, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2. December 1994–December 1995, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, 14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
3. December 1995–July 1999, C-21 Instructor Pilot, Chief of Training, Life Support Officer, 12th Airlift Flight, Langley AFB, Va.
4. July 1999–November 1999, Student, T-38 Requalification Training and AT-38 Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals, 12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB, Texas
5. November 1999–August 2000, Student, F-16 Replacement Training Unit, 62nd Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
6. August 2000–May 2003, F-16 4-Ship Flight Lead, Chief of Scheduling, Squadron Safety Officer, 523rd Fighter Squadron, Cannon AFB, N.M.
7. May 2003 - September 2003, Student, T-38 Pilot Instructor Training, 560th Flying Training Squadron, Randolph AFB, Texas
8. September 2003–July 2006, T-38 Instructor Pilot; Chief of Wing Commander’s Action Group; Director of Command and Control; Current Operations Flight Commander; Chief Flight Scheduler, 14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB, Miss.
9. August 2006–June 2007, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
10. July 2007–June 2008, Student, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
11. June 2008–July 2009, Deputy of Strategy, 607th Korea Air and Space Operations Center, Osan Air Base, South Korea
12. November 2009–June 2011, MQ-9 Instructor Pilot, Director of Operations, Director of Combat Operations, 42nd Attack Squadron, Creech AFB, Nev.
13. June 2011–June 2012, MQ-9 Instructor Pilot/MQ-1 Pilot, Commander, 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan
14. August 2012–June 2013, Spanish Student, Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, Calif.
15. July 2013–June 2014, Student, Inter-American Defense College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
16. August 2014–May 2016, Commander, 432nd Operations and Expeditionary Operations Group, Creech AFB, Nev.
17. June 2016–June 2017, Director, Security Assistance, Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq (OSC-I), Baghdad
18. July 2017–June 2019, Commander, 432nd Wing and 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Creech AFB, Nev.
19. June 2019–July 2020, Director, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Operations; Director, Remotely Piloted Aircraft and Airborne ISR Capabilities, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
20. July 2020–July 2021, Deputy Director for ISR Operations (J-32), Joint Staff J-3, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
21. July 2021–July 2022, Commander, Special Operations Joint Task Force - Central, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar
22. July 2022–present, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2016–June 2017, Director, Security Assistance, Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq (OSC-I), Baghdad, as a colonel
2. July 2020–July 2021, Deputy Director for ISR Operations (J-32), Joint Staff J-3, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a brigadier general
3. July 2021–July 2022, Commander, Special Operations Joint Task Force - Central, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, as a brigadier general
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: command pilot
Flight hours: 3,700
Aircraft flown: MQ-1, MQ-9, RQ-170, F-16, T-38, AT-38 and C-21
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal with two silver oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air and Space Achievement Medal
PUBLICATIONS
“The War Over Warrior: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Adaptive Joint Command and Control,” SAASS Thesis
“Accelerating the Kill Chain Via Future Unmanned Aircraft,” Blue Horizons Paper
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2018 U.S. Air Force General and Mrs. Jerome F. O’Malley Award
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 1, 1994
First Lieutenant June 1, 1996
Captain June 1, 1998
Major Aug. 1, 2004
Lieutenant Colonel March 1, 2009
Colonel Oct. 1, 2014
Brigadier General Oct. 4, 2019
Major General Oct. 4, 2022
(Current as of February 2023)