Photo By Jacob Wologo | Richard P. De Fatta, deputy to the Commanding General for U.S. Army Space and Missile...... read more read more
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After nearly five decades in the space and missile defense business, Richard P. De Fatta, deputy to the commanding general of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, will retire from civil service on Feb. 27.
For four years, De Fatta has served as deputy to the commanding general for USASMDC. As the command’s senior civilian, he provides leadership in support of the commanding general's priorities, initiatives and directed areas of responsibility, including oversight of USASMDC's Technical Center, Center of Excellence and Army space and missile defense programs.
"This job is the first job I ever had where I wasn't in charge," De Fatta said jokingly. "All the successes with which I am associated were from guiding the efforts of very talented teams. That's one of the things that you find out about USASMDC; we have an incredible team of professional Soldiers, engineers, scientists and administrators who work very well together."
Before serving as deputy to the commanding general, De Fatta served as director of the Technical Center, as well as of the Capability Development and Integration Directorate, Future Warfare Center. He also established the Center of Excellence, becoming its first director.
Other significant accomplishments at USASMDC include maintaining battle operations during leadership transitions and delivering significant space and missile defense capabilities to Warfighters. His greatest accomplishment as deputy, De Fatta said, was USASMDC achieving the Best Place to Work in the Army award for multiple years during his tenure.
“One thing I am proud of is achieving best place to work in the Army multiple years in a row,” said De Fatta. “That took the efforts of not only our individual teammates, but also everyone associated with understanding what the people needed and reacting to those requirements.”
De Fatta’s career with the Army began upon acceptance to West Point. However, the trajectory towards his instrumental work in the field of space defense technology was shaped by his father, who served in the Army for 27 years and retired from Redstone Arsenal as the Stinger program manager, but he also managed the Army’s directed energy program in the mid ‘70s.
"As a cadet at West Point, I came to visit my dad, and he took me out in the back of his office here as a project manager and showed me a huge laser in a Marine light assault vehicle,” he said. “It kind of got me started.”
De Fatta earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 1978 and later earned a Master of Science in Engineering Physics from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Systems Management from the Florida Institute of Technology.
During his military career, De Fatta received the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Staff Identification Badge, and the Parachutist Badge. He is also the recipient of the Army Space and Missile Defense Association Technical Achievement Award and the National Defense Industrial Association Defense Technical Award.
De Fatta retired from the military in 2005, though he maintained his link to Army space and missile defense efforts by managing companies that supported USASMDC. He then chose to return to the Army when the SMDC position, Emerging Technology Director, managing the Army's directed energy systems opened. From there, he served in various leadership positions within the command before his selection as deputy to the commanding general.
Reflecting on his career of leadership endeavors and scientific and military achievements, De Fatta emphasized the importance of the unexpected linkages in his career. He said that although his career seems cohesive, he never planned it that way.
"There's no way I could have written out my plan, like, ‘I'll be in the Army for a while, then I am going to work in industry and go here and there and end up as a Tier 3 SES,” De Fatta said.
When asked about his accomplishments, De Fatta emphasized the importance of the people he has worked with and managed. He stressed that he doesn’t want people to remember a list of his own accomplishments, but the overall success of the command he helped lead.
"The highlights of my career are sort of like the highlights of SMDC as a command," De Fatta said. "If we were able to advertise how successful SMDC has been and how much it's changed... those would be the messages I'd like to see come out of it."
| Date Taken: | 02.24.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 02.25.2026 09:34 |
| Story ID: | 558720 |
| Location: | REDSTONE ARSENAL, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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