Major James E. Webber was born and raised in Leavenworth, Kansas, where he graduated with honors from Leavenworth Senior High School in 1968. After four years in the Air Force ROTC program at Washburn University in Topeka, he graduated in 1972 with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant as a Minuteman Nuclear Missile Launch
Officer at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne Wyoming. Major Webber achieved instructor status in Minuteman I and Minuteman III Missile systems as well as Missile Combat Crew Commander in Minuteman III culminating in the award of the Combat Crew Excellence Award in 1976. This award is earned by only the top 10 percent of the entire missile crew force. After his four year tour in missile operations, Major Webber transitioned into the relatively unknown career field of Space Systems Operations. For the next 16 years, Major Webber became a pioneer in the development, testing, and operational training of large phased array strategic warning radar systems. In 1981, Major Webber earned the 15th Air Force, Space Operator of the Year
Award for sustained superior performance and was in the initial cadre of personnel who formed Air Force Space Command. He earned a Master of Arts Degree in Space Systems Management from
Webster University and taught courses in Natural Science and the Fundamentals of Space Flight as an adjunct professor for the University of Alaska, Pikes Peak Community College, and Webster University. Major Webber and his wife of 51 years, Suzy, raised two wonderful sons, Trey and Taran.