Former Director, Missile Defense Agency

Lt. Gen. Samuel A. Greaves was the Director, Missile Defense Agency (MDA). MDA’s mission is to develop, test, and field an integrated, layered, ballistic missile defense system (BMDS) to defend the United States, its deployed forces, allies, and friends against all ranges of enemy ballistic missiles in all phases of flight. General Greaves directed the organization spanning 14 time zones with more than 8,000 military, civilian and contract personnel.

General Greaves was commissioned in 1982 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program after he graduated from Cornell University. He has held a variety of assignments in operational, acquisition and staff units, including assignments at Headquarters Air Combat Command; the National Reconnaissance Office; and on the Air Staff within the Directorate of Operational Requirements and the Air Force Colonel Matters Office. He commanded the 45th Launch Group at Patrick AFB, Florida, the Launch and Range Systems Wing and Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing at Los Angeles AFB, California. The general also served as Vice Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, California, and then as Director, Strategic Plans, Programs and Analyses, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colorado. He was then assigned as the Deputy Director, Missile Defense Agency, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Prior to his current assignment, he was the Program Executive Office (Space) and Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California.

He has operational launch crew experience in the space shuttle, Titan, Atlas and Delta space-launch systems. He wears the Command Space Badge