LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. -- Shannon Pallone was welcomed to the ranks of the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service May 29, 2026, during a promotion ceremony. Pallone’s promotion solidifies her role as the portfolio acquisition executive for Space Force programs in the Battle Management, Command, Control, Communication, and Space Intelligence arena.
“I cannot tell you how excited I am to have somebody who has grown up here in L.A. make it to SES,” said Lt. Gen. Steven Whitney, director, Force Structure, Resources, and Assessment, who presided over the ceremony. Pallone will continue to guide the more than $8.5 billion portfolio of programs of BMC3I, which has a diverse set of mission areas that include battle management, data service, satellite control, space intelligence, and space domain awareness. Her strategic vision will guide the seamless and timely integration for the future of multi-domain warfighting.
What began as a junior level position at the then Space and Missile Systems Center has spanned more than 16 years of program management experience which have culminated in Pallone’s arrival to the executive ranks, all done in space programs at LA AFB. While unusual, not completely impossible, she noted.
Prior to BMC3I, Pallone made her name in the Military Satellite Communications portfolio of programs, namely the Protected Tactical Satellite Communications in both materiel and senior materiel leadership roles. Whitney exclaimed the importance of these programs in how these are “capabilities we need for our warfighters.”
“We are going to be an organization that relentlessly develops talent, values expertise, embraces accountability, learns from failure, and executes with urgency. It’s all about decision advantage with speed and scale,” said Pallone.
Pallone earned a certificate from the University of Southern California’s Executive Program in Global Space and Deterrence in 2023. The Space, History, Industry, Engineering, Leadership and Deterrence program is a joint program with the Price School of Public Policy and Viterbi School of Engineering in Los Angeles. She also holds a Master of Pacific International Affairs from the University of California, San Diego, and a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Duke University.