Due to his success at Combat Duty alerting, Yakovlev was appointed Chief of Staff of the missile regiment in 1981.

In 1983, Yakovlev enrolled in the command school of the Dzerzhinsky Military Academy (ru:Военная академия РВСН им.

While there, he earned a gold medal and then was sent to become the post commander of the 6th Guards missile regiment of Riga (Pervomais'k-on-Bug).

In 1993, Yakovlev was appointed chief of staff of the 60th Missile Division, and in 1994 was made Commander of the 27th Guards Rocket Army in Vladimir Oblast.

From December 2009 to May 2012, Yakovlev was chief of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.