Colonel Miguel "MAC" Cruz is the Commander of Space Delta 4, Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado. The Delta delivers strategic and theater missile warning to the United States and international partners, while also contributing to missile defense, space domain awareness, battlespace awareness and technical intelligence missions in support of Combatant Commanders worldwide. The Delta operates and supports three satellite constellations and two ground-based sensors located at 10 locations worldwide.
Colonel Cruz received his commission as a Distinguished Graduate from the University of Puerto Rico in 1997. His career includes operational tours in the nuclear operations, space surveillance, missile warning, and space control mission areas. His Headquarter Staff tours include tenures at the Service, Joint Staff, and Combatant Command levels.
Colonel Cruz’s command tours include Detachment 2, 17th Test Squadron, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, CO, the 7th Space Warning Squadron, Beale AFB, CA, and his current capacity. He also worked as a Political Officer at the United States Embassy in Bogota, Colombia and is a certified Foreign Area Officer. Colonel Cruz is a graduate of the US Air Force Weapons School, the Air Force Fellows program, the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, and the Inter-American Defense College. He was inducted into the United States Space Force on 7 October, 2020.
EDUCATION:
1994 Bachelor of Business Administration, University of the Sacred Heart, PR (Magna Cum Laude)
1997 Master of Public Administration, University of Puerto Rico, PR (ROTC DG)
2003 Squadron Officers School, Maxwell AFB, AL (Clebe McCleary Award winner)
2004 USAF Weapons Instructor Course, Nellis AFB, NV
2009 Foreign Policy Fellowship-Office of the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the Air
Force, Pentagon, Arlington, VA
2010 Master of Philosophy, Air Power Art and Science, School of Advanced Air and Space
Studies, Maxwell AFB, AL
2018 Master of Science, Hemispheric Defense and Security, Inter-American Defense College, Ft
McNair, Washington DC (Graduate with Distinction)
ASSIGNMENTS:
1. June 1997 - September 1997, Assistant Regional Director of Admissions, AFROTC Det 755, PR
2. October 1997 - June 1998, Student, Undergraduate Space and Missile Training, and Initial
Qualification Training, MMIII ICBM Vandenberg AFB, CA
3. June 1998 - June 2001, ICBM Combat Crew member and later, Crew Commander, Instructor,
and Assistant Flight Commander, 321st Missile Squadron, F.E. Warren AFB, WY
4. July 2001 - August 2001, Student, ANFPS-85 Active Space Surveillance Initial Qualification
Training, Vandenberg AFB, CA
5. August 2001 - June 2004, Space Surveillance Crew Commander, Chief, Operations Training,
and Operations Flight Commander, 20th Space Control Squadron, Eglin AFB, FL
6. July 2004 - December 2004, Student, Weapons Instructor Course, 328th Weapons Squadron,
Nellis AFB, NV
7. January 2005 - July 2007, Flight Commander, Weapons and Tactics, 21st Operations Support
Squadron, Peterson AFB, CO
8. July 2007 - June 2008, Chief, Space Strategy Integration, 607th Air and Space Operations
Center, Strategy Division, Osan AB, Republic of Korea
9. June 2008 - June 2009, Air Force Fellow, Office of the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chief of
Staff of the Air Force, Pentagon, Arlington, VA
10. July 2009 - June 2010, Student, School of Advance Air & Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, AL
11. July 2010 - June 2013, Joint Strategic Planner, Joint Operational War Plans Division, Joint
Staff (J5), Pentagon, Arlington, VA
12. Jul 2013 - June 2014, Commander, 17th Test Squadron, Detachment 2, Cheyenne Mountain
Air Force Station, CO
13. June 2014 - June 2016, Commander, 7th Space Warning Squadron, Beale AFB, CA
14. June 2016 - June 2017, Chief, Strategy Team, SecAF/CSAF Executive Action Group, Pentagon,
Arlington, VA
15. July 2017 - June 2018, Student, Inter-American Defense College, Ft McNair, Washington DC
16. June 2018 - July 2020, Chief, Space Force Enhancement Division, Office of the Assistant
Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration, Pentagon, Arlington, VA
17. July 2020 - February 2021: Director, Commander’s Action Group, Headquarters United States Space
Command, Peterson-Schriever Garrison, CO
18. February 2021 - June 2021: Chief, Mission Assurance and Protection Division, Headquarters United
States Space Command, Peterson-Schriever Garrison, CO
19. July 2021 - Present: Commander, Space Delta 4, Buckley Space Force Base CO
BADGES and SPACE SYSTEMS:
Joint Staff Service Badge
Air Staff Service Badge
USSPACECOM Service Badge
Master Space Operations Badge
Basic Missile Operations Badge
Space Systems: Minuteman III ICBM REACT-A, ANFPS-85 and PAVE-PAWS Phased Array Radars
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS:
Defense Superior Service Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Combat Readiness Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Korean Defense Service Medal
Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal with "N" device and one oak leaf cluster
PUBLICATIONS and PRESENTATIONS:
"Between Theory and Practice: The Utility of International Relations Theory to the Military Practitioner", Wild Blue Yonder, Air University Press, 3 February 2020.
"The Perils of Polarity: The Danger of Absolute Terms in International Politics", Journal of the Inter-American Defense College, Vol. 5, 31 July 2019.
"Strengthening Coalition Space Capabilities and US-Allied Partnerships", Resilient Space Conference Panel member, MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA, 12 June 2019.
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant: June 12, 1997
First Lieutenant: May 28, 1999
Captain: May 28, 2001
Major: March 1, 2007
Lieutenant Colonel: May 1, 2012
Colonel: November 1, 2018
(As of July 2021)