08/12/2026
Join us Tuesday, Sept 15, 2026 at the Breakfast Club with Lieutenant General John Rafferty
🗓️ Date: Tuesday, Sept 15, 2026
☕️ Breakfast 7:15 AM | Program 7:45 AM
📍 The Jackson Center | 6001 Moquin Drive | Huntsville, Alabama 35806
https://www.spaceclubhsv.org/breakfast-club
Lieutenant General John Rafferty assumed command of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, and Joint Task Force-Gold on April 29, 2026.
Rafferty enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1987, serving as an infantryman with the 8th Infantry Division before attending Longwood University, where he was commissioned as a field artillery officer.
He was first assigned to 5th Battalion (Air Assault), 8th Field Artillery (FA) Regiment of the 18th FA Brigade (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as a fire direction officer and platoon leader. He then served as the fire support officer for B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Following the USMC Amphibious Warfare School at Quantico, Virginia, Rafferty was posted with the 1st Armored Division Artillery in Baumholder, Germany, as a staff officer before commanding B Battery, 1st Battalion, 94th FA (MLRS), and then Headquarters Battery 1st Armored Division Artillery. He was selected as the FSO for 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield and deployed for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His education includes a Bachelor of Arts from Longwood University, a Master of Arts from King’s College London, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.
He has been married to Tracey for more than 32 years and they have two adult children.
