Colonel Shariful M. Khan has been promoted to Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force. He is the first Bangladeshi American to achieve the rank of brigadier general in the United States.
Khan now serves as the Director of Staff for the “Golden Dome for America” program, responsible for coordinating policy, planning, deployment, and interagency collaboration for the nation’s advanced missile-defense system. His promotion comes with responsibilities in shaping next-generation missile defense capabilities.
An alumnus of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Khan was commissioned in 1997 and has held key posts including satellite operations and space management. He was also deployed to Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait in 2001, and later as Deployment Commander during Operation Silent Sentry in 2007.
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Khan made history on Aug. 20 — he was promoted at the Pentagon, with the oath administered by Gen. Sean Bratton, Vice Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force.
Among those who attended the promotion ceremony of the newly minted Brigadier General was former U.S. Ambassador to Fiji M. Osman Siddique, a Bangladeshi American and first South Asian American to serve as a U.S. ambassador. Siddique posted on X:
“At the Pentagon yesterday I had the pleasure and honor of attending the promotion ceremony of Colonel Shariful Khan to Brigadier General. […] I congratulate Brigadier General Khan for his loyalty, dedication and service to our country,” Siddique wrote in his social media post.
At the Pentagon yesterday I had the pleasure and honor of attending the promotion ceremony of Colonel Shariful Khan to Brigadier General.
The oath of office was conducted by General Shawn Bratton, Vice Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force.
Brigadier General Khan… pic.twitter.com/70fq48oWUS— Ambassador M. Osman Siddique (@osmanmsiddique) August 20, 2025
Khan has held several key leadership roles during his career, including command of the 379th Space Range Squadron and the 310th Space Wing at Schriever Space Force Base, where he oversaw operations and nearly 1,500 personnel. He also served on the staff of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He was promoted to colonel in 2017 and to brigadier general in 2025.
He earned a B.S. in political science from the U.S. Air Force Academy and advanced degrees in space systems operations management, strategic intelligence, military strategy, and national security studies from Webster University, the National Defense Intelligence College, the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, and the U.S. Naval War College. His professional education also includes the MIT National Security Fellowship, the NATO Senior Officer Policy Course in Germany, and an executive leadership program at Georgetown University.
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Khan’s elevation highlights the growing representation of immigrant communities in senior U.S. military leadership and marks a significant milestone for Bangladeshi-Americans in defense service.