John E. Hyten

John Earl Hyten (born July 18, 1959) is a retired United States Air Force general who served as the 11th vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2019 to 2021. A career space operations and acquisitions officer, he commanded the United States Strategic Command from 2016 to 2019 and the Air Force Space Command from 2014 to 2016.

Hyten was born in Torrance, California. After graduating from Harvard University, he received his commission into the U.S. Air Force in 1981. He started his military career in engineering jobs, then went into space and missile operations. He commanded the 6th Space Operations Squadron, 595th Space Group, and 50th Space Wing.

After retiring, Hyten joined Blue Origin as a strategic advisor.

Early life and education John Earl Hyten was born on July 18, 1959, in Torrance, California as the eldest of Sherwyn and Barbara Hyten's three children. In 1965, his family moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where his father worked on the Saturn V rocket. He grew up in Huntsville at the height of the Space Race, attending Chaffee Elementary School and Grissom High School, two of the three schools named after the Apollo 1 astronauts who died during a launch rehearsal test. In 1977, he graduated from Grissom High School. He wanted to become an astronaut, but because of his poor eyesight, decided to pursue engineering "to get in the space business."

Hyten got accepted into Harvard University, but unable to pay for it, he accepted an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship that required him to serve in the United States Air Force for four years. He graduated from Harvard in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in engineering and applied sciences. After graduating, he commissioned into the Air Force as a second lieutenant, intending to serve only for four years and get out in 1985 to work in the space industry. However, Helms' nomination was put on hold by Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill resulting in the withdrawal of the nomination and leading to the retirement of Helms. On April 9, 2014, Hyten was confirmed by the Senate for promotion to the rank of General and appointment as Commander, Air Force Space Command. Before assuming command of the United States Strategic Command on November 3, 2016, Hyten commanded Air Force Space Command. The change of command ceremony occurred on November 3.

In November 2017, Hyten stated that if he determines Donald Trump's order for a nuclear strike to be illegal, then "I'm going to say: 'Mr President, that's illegal.' And guess what he's going to do? He's going to say, 'What would be legal?' And we'll come up with options, of a mix of capabilities to respond to whatever the situation is, and that's the way it works."

Hyten has been a strong proponent for developing advanced hypersonic weapons, saying they would enable "responsive, long-range, strike options against distant, defended, and/or time-critical threats [such as road-mobile missiles] when other forces are unavailable, denied access, or not preferred.”

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Hyten is sworn in as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on November 18, 2019.

In April 2019, Hyten was nominated to be Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The U.S. Senate confirmed him on September 26, 2019, by a vote of 75–22. He assumed duties as the Vice Chairman on November 21, 2019, making him the second highest-ranking military officer in the U.S. Armed Forces. From February 2, 2019, Hyten also served as the senior designated official of the Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations Cross Functional Team.

Hyten has stated that he hopes to reduce overclassification in the Department of Defense.

It was announced that by the year of 2021 Hyten is expected to retire and would not seek a second-term as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. With the absence of a selected nominee to succeed Hyten, Department of Defense officials stated in October 2021 that Hyten would delegate his duties to senior officials on the Joint Staff if a nominee was not confirmed by his retirement date in November. U.S. Navy Adm. Christopher Grady succeeded Hyten as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff upon the confirmation of his nomination to the post by the U.S. Senate on December 16, 2021.

Hyten retired from active duty on November 19, 2021.

Sexual misconduct allegation General Hyten testifies at his Senate nomination hearing to be vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, July 30, 2019. In July 2019, an unnamed senior military officer spoke to the Associated Press accusing Hyten of sexual misconduct in 2017 while she was one of his aides. The officer claimed that Hyten subjected her to unwanted kissing and touching during the 2017 Reagan National Defense Forum in California and several times during the year she was while working as his aide. The officer said, "My life was ruined by this".

The Air Force Office of Special Investigations opened an investigation, which included interviews with 53 witnesses and a review of tens of thousands of emails. The investigation found no evidence or information to substantiate the allegations. The court martial convening authority, General Mike Holmes, declined to take any action given the lack of supporting evidence concerning the allegations. The Secretary of the Air Force who initiated the investigation also concluded that General Hyten had been falsely accused.

The accuser identified herself as Colonel Kathryn A. Spletstoser, former director, Commander's Action Group, United States Strategic Command, on July 26, 2019.

On July 30, Hyten appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing for Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, following five closed-door sessions. No members of the committee supported the accusations in the public hearing, with Senator Martha McSally stating that "sexual assault happens in the military. It just didn't happen in this case" and that "the full truth was revealed in this process... General Hyten is innocent of these charges." In July 2023, Spletstoser reached a settlement with the federal government in U.S. District Court in California for $975,000.

Settlement and legal significance In July 2023, the United States government agreed to pay $975,000 to settle a civil lawsuit brought by retired Army Colonel Kathryn Spletstoser against General Hyten, who was accused of sexual assault and battery.

The case, Spletstoser v. Hyten, included state-law claims of sexual battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and gender-based violence. Ariel E. Solomon of Solomon Law Firm represented Spletstoser in the litigation.

Legal analysts noted that the Ninth Circuit’s earlier decision allowing the lawsuit to proceed represented a rare instance in which a service-member’s sexual-assault claim was not barred by precedent in Feres v. United States. Commentary in The 19th News likewise described the case as part of a growing effort by military-sexual-assault survivors to obtain justice through civilian courts rather than the military system.

Civilian career On June 15, 2022, Blue Origin announced that Hyten will join the company as strategic advisor and executive director for Club for Future and . In March 2023, he was appointed as special advisor to Thomas Siebel, the chief executive officer of C3.ai, after joining the company's advisory board in June 2022.

Personal life Hyten is married to Laura Hyten.

Awards and decorations General Hyten presents a gift to Romanian Minister of National Defense Nicolae Ciucă during a visit to Mihail Kognalniceanu Air Base, January 7, 2020. Hyten is the recipient of the following awards:

Defense Distinguished Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf clusterAir Force Distinguished Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf clusterLegion of Merit with one bronze oak leaf clusterDefense Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clustersMeritorious Service Medal with four bronze oak leaf clustersArmy Commendation MedalAir Force Commendation MedalJoint Service Achievement MedalAir Force Achievement MedalJoint Meritorious Unit Award with two bronze oak leaf clustersAir Force Organizational Excellence Award with one silver oak leaf clusterNational Defense Service Medal with one bronze service starGlobal War on Terrorism Expeditionary MedalGlobal War on Terrorism Service MedalAir and Space Campaign MedalNuclear Deterrence Operations Service MedalAir Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold frameAir Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and three bronze oak leaf clustersSmall Arms Expert Marksmanship RibbonAir Force Training Ribbon Other achievements 1991 Recipient of the William Jump Award for Excellence within the Federal Government 1998 Recipient of a Laurels Award, Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine 2009 Gen. Jerome F. O'Malley Distinguished Space Leadership Award 2014 Dr. Wernher Von Braun Space Flight Trophy 2014 General Thomas D. White Space Award 2018 Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy

Promotions Hyten is pinned with the rank of lieutenant general by his wife Laura and General William L. Shelton, the outgoing AFSPC commander on May 18, 2012.

Writings