Col. Johannes (Jon) E. Castro became the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s chief of staff on Aug. 14, 2025. He was born in California and raised in Finland and Salt Lake City, Utah. He was commissioned as an Air Defense Artillery officer through the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, after serving as a signals intelligence cryptanalyst (MOS 98K).
Castro’s prior command assignments include: commander, A Battery, 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Regiment, and commander, D Battery, 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Regiment - both in Ansbach, Germany; deputy commander, 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea; commander, Task Force Talon, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; and most recently, commander, 4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment, split between Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, and Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
His previous non-command assignments include: fire control platoon leader and battery executive officer in the 108th ADA Brigade, Fort Bliss, Texas; Air Defense Artillery fire control officer, Task Force 1-7 ADA – deployed to Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, for OPERATION SOUTHERN WATCH; Air Defense Artillery officer, 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment, Illesheim, Germany – deployed to Balad Southeast Airfield, Iraq, to support OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM; plans and senior air defense observer, coach/trainer at the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, Louisiana; Afghan National Security Force coordination officer, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team “Mountain Warrior,” 4th Infantry Division – deployed to Jalalabad, Afghanistan, for OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM; battalion operations officer, 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4ID; chief of Strategy and Policy, Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, U.S. Strategic Command, Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado; G-3 Forward, 10th AAMDC; liaison officer to NATO Air Command and U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa, Ramstein Air Base, Germany; and chief of staff, Missile Defense Agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Castro is a graduate of the University of Utah and Louisiana State University and holds a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College (Class 2022).
His personal awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (six awards), Army Commendation Medal (two awards), Air Force Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal (eight awards), Air Force Achievement Medal, OEF and OIF Campaign Medals, Armed Forces Expeditionary and Service Medals, Humanitarian Service Medal, Parachutist Badge, Army Basic Space Badge, and the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge (Gold).
Castro and his wife are proud parents of four daughters.
August 2025
