Promising to try to avert war from outer space through strength, Gen. John "Jay" Raymond was sworn in as the first commander of the newly created United States Space Force.
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The first newly created branch of the U.S. armed forces in more than seven decades now has its first official member.
Air Force Gen. John "Jay" Raymond was sworn in Tuesday as Chief of Space Operations. It's the top post in what since late last month is the Pentagon's seventh military branch, the United States Space Force.
With one hand placed on a Bible whose "official" blessing on Sunday sparked sharp criticism, Raymond was sworn in by Vice President Pence at the vice president's ceremonial office.
"It is President Trump's belief that the United States must remain as dominant in space as we are on land and sea and the air," Pence told Raymond before administering the oath. "And your charge is to see to that mission with the United States Space Force."
The 4-star general, who already wears two other hats as commander of both the Air Force Space Command and the U.S. Space Command, donned his additional new hat with evident enthusiasm.
"Mr. Vice President, we have our marching orders and we are moving out," Raymond told Pence. "We do not want a conflict to begin or extend into space, we want to deter that conflict from happening. The best way I know how to do that is to do so from a position of strength."
But at the moment, there are no Space Force troops to command. Most of the 16,000 officers, airmen and civilians who Pentagon officials expect to comprise the new service branch in the next few months would likely be Air Force personnel drawn from the U.S. Space Command, which is to be the Space Force's operational component.
Congress provided $40 million in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act for initially standing up the Space Force, which is to operate under the umbrella of the U.S. Air Force, much as the U.S. Marines are part of the Department of the Navy.
Raymond, who will be a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was appointed by President Trump under NDAA guidelines allowing the Space Force commander to serve for the first year without Senate confirmation.
The 58-year-old career Air Force officer has been an outspoken advocate for creating a military branch focused on outer space.
"The scope, scale and complexity of the threat to our space capabilities is real and it's concerning," Raymond told reporters in August. "We no longer have the luxury of operating in a peaceful, benign domain, and we no longer have the luxury of treating space superiority as a given."
At the Joint Base Andrews ceremony in December where he signed the Space Force into law, Trump exulted over this military reorganization that will become part of his legacy in office.
"Space. Going to be a lot of things happening in space. Because space is the world's newest warfighting domain," Trump declared. "Amid grave threats to our national security, American superiority in space is absolutely vital. And we're leading, but we're not leading by enough. But very shortly, we'll be leading by a lot."
Raymond has preferred to cast the new military thrust into outer space as a collaborative effort with U.S. allies.
"Historically, we haven't needed to have allies in space," he told reporters last summer at the Pentagon. "Space was a benign domain, it wasn't as critical. It is very important today that we have — and we are working very closely with our partners, specifically our Five Eyes partners [Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada], with France, Germany and Japan."
The new commander also confirmed in September that, in his capacity as U.S. Space Command chief, he'd already spoken with space entrepreneurs Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson.
"Early in my career as a young captain, I was the commercial space officer for Air Force Space Command," Raymond told CNBC. "So, I have been steeped in interfacing with the commercial business for many, many years."
For now, Raymond is creating the new Space Force with a clean sheet, a top-down job that by every indication starts with himself.
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U.S. SPACE FORCE FACT SHEET
The U.S. Space Force (USSF) is a new branch of the Armed Forces. It was established on December 20, 2019 with enactment of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act and will be stood-up over the next 18 months. The USSF was established within the Department of the Air Force, meaning the Secretary of the Air Force has overall responsibility for the USSF, under the guidance and direction of the Secretary of Defense. Additionally, a four-star general known as the Chief of Space Operations (CSO) serves as the senior military member of the USSF. The CSO will be a full member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in December 2020.
Mission
The USSF is a military service that organizes, trains, and equips space forces in order to protect U.S. and allied interests in space and to provide space capabilities to the joint force. USSF responsibilities include developing military space professionals, acquiring military space systems, maturing the military doctrine for space power, and organizing space forces to present to our Combatant Commands.
Office of the Chief of Space Operations
The Chief of Space Operations, U.S. Space Force, serves as the principal uniformed adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force on Space Force activities. The CSO presides over the Office of the Chief of Space Operations, transmits plans and recommendations to the Secretary of the Air Force and acts as the Secretary's agent in carrying them out.
Space Force Organization
The USSF Headquarters and Office of the CSO are located in the Pentagon, just like the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. This staff will focus on establishing a fully-functioning headquarters; preparing to execute the full scope of its organize, train, and equip responsibilities; and, in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force, developing a detailed plan to transfer forces into the U.S. Space Force. As a new military service, the U.S. Space Force will leverage the Department of the Air Force for more than 75 percent of its enabling functions to significantly reduce cost and avoid duplication. The Department of the Air Force will provide support functions that includes logistics, base operating support, civilian personnel management, business systems, IT support, audit agencies, etc.
People
Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) was redesignated as the USSF as an initial step in establishing the USSF. Military members that were assigned to AFSPC have now been assigned to the USSF but remain Airmen within the U.S. Air Force. Appropriate Air Force space-related personnel will transfer into the Space Force and become Space Force service members in a deliberate manner over the next 18 months. Over time, the Department of Defense (DOD) vision is to consolidate space missions from across the Armed Forces into the USSF, as appropriate and consistent with law.
Space Capabilities
The new, independent U.S. Space Force will maintain and enhance the competitive edge of the DOD in space while adapting to new strategic challenges.
Spacelift operations at the East and West Coast launch bases provide services, facilities and range safety control for the conduct of DOD, NASA and commercial space launches. Through the command and control of all DOD satellites, satellite operators provide force-multiplying effects – continuous global coverage, low vulnerability and autonomous operations. Satellites provide essential in-theater secure communications, weather and navigational data for ground, air and fleet operations and threat warning.
Ground-based and space-based systems monitor ballistic missile launches around the world to guard against a surprise missile attack on North America. A global network of space surveillance sensors provide vital information on the location of satellites and space debris for the nation and the world. Maintaining space superiority is an emerging capability required to protect U.S. space assets from hostile attacks.
History
While the launch of the U.S. Space Force propels the United States into a new era, the Department of the Air Force has a proud history and long-standing record of providing the best space capabilities in the world.
On Sept. 1, 1982, the Air Force established AFSPC, with space operations as its primary mission. Cold War-era space operations focused on missile warning, launch operations, satellite control, space surveillance and command and control for national leadership. In 1991, Operation DESERT STORM validated the command's continuing focus on support to the warfighter through the use of GPS to enable the famous “Left Hook,” proving the value of space-based capabilities.
In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the president directed military action against Afghanistan and Iraq. AFSPC provided extensive space-based support to the U.S. Central Command commander in areas of communications; positioning, navigation and timing; meteorology; and warning. In 2005, the Air Force expanded its mission areas to include cyberspace. In concert with this, the Air Staff assigned responsibility for conducting cyberspace operations to AFSPC through Twenty-Fourth Air Force, which was activated in August 2009.
In July 2018, the Air Force cyber mission transferred to Air Combat Command, which generated the greatest capacity for an integrated Information Warfare capability within the Air Force. This move allowed AFSPC to focus on gaining and maintaining space superiority and outpacing our adversaries in the space domain.
With the enactment of the FY20 NDAA, AFSPC was re-designated the U.S. Space Force on Dec. 20, 2019, granting Title 10 authorization to the U.S. Space Force, established under the Department of the Air Force.
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