Lt Col Jachin Sakamoto is the Director of Undergraduate French and German Instruction and an Instructor of German at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). In this role, he serves a multidisciplinary team of PhD-level professors in the undergraduate language instruction of over 500 cadets per semester, overseeing the curriculum and instructional roadmaps of 50 German and French classes annually, from beginner to advanced proficiency levels, and the planning and organizing of undergraduate study abroad and semester exchange opportunities with foreign language schools and universities.

A 1999 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Jachin earned a Bachelor of Science in Operations Research with minors in Mathematics and German. He later completed a Master of Science in Management Information Systems at the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Jachin’s career spans over two decades of leadership in engineering, software development, and international policy. Prior to his current position, he served as the Senior Administrator and Site Lead for Agile Space Ops Software at the Air Force Research Laboratory, where he directed DevSecOps execution and managed over 1,000 international stakeholders. His international experience includes serving as a Management Analyst for CIS and IT Policy at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, where he collaborated with multi-national experts to define and document communication standards.

His extensive background in the Department of the Air Force and the intelligence community includes senior roles at the Air National Guard Headquarters, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the Warrior Preparation Center. Throughout these assignments, he managed multi-billion dollar budget requirements and led complex satellite and aircraft program acquisitions. Earlier in his career, he served as a Satellite Operations Team Supervisor and Space Ground Command Center Shift Lead, overseeing hundreds of missions.

Lt Col Sakamoto has contributed to the publishing of articles on topics including computer-based deception detection and productivity in electronically mediated environments. He holds Level III Defense Acquisition University certifications in Program Management and Level II in System Engineering.

Masters of Science, Information Systems Management, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (2004)

Bachelor of Science, Operations Research, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (1999)