General Chilton completed a 34 1/2 year Air Force career as Commander of U.S. Strategic Command from 2007 to 2011, where he was responsible for the plans and operations for all U.S. forces conducting strategic deterrence and the Department of Defense’s space and cyberspace operations. Prior to this assignment, General Chilton commanded at the wing, numbered air force, major command, and unified combatant command levels including serving as Commander of Air Force Space Command from 2006 to 2007. He flew operational assignments in the R-4C and F-15 and, as an Air Force Test Pilot, conducted weapons testing in various models of the F-4 and F-15. He also served 11 years as a NASA astronaut, where he flew as the Commander of STS-76, his third Space Shuttle mission, and served as the Deputy Program Manager for Operations for the International Space Station Program.

General Chilton is a distinguished graduate of the US Air Force Academy, with a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Engineering Sciences, a Columbia University Guggenheim Fellow with a Master of Sciences degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a distinguished graduate of the US Air Force pilot training and test pilot schools. He also was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Creighton University.

General Chilton is a Trustee for the Air Force Academy Falcon Foundation, an Independent Governor on the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories Board of Governors, and a Director for The Pikes Peak or Bust Foundation, and Lumen Technologies Inc.