The Department of the Air Force has officially activated its Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM), the third field command of the U.S. Space Force. Brig. Gen. Shawn Bratton, who has been leading the STARCOM planning team since February 2021, assumed command of STARCOM in a ceremony held at Colorado’s Peterson Space Force Base on Monday. Five STARCOM deltas, subordinate commands made up of squadrons focused on specific tactics, were also activated during the ceremony.
“As space capabilities have evolved over the decades from novelty to nicety to necessity, so has the need to have a military service focused on the space domain that is supported by a command dedicated to developing space professionals,” said Bratton. “The bottom line is that STARCOM will prepare every Guardian to prevail in conflict through innovative warfighting capabilities and tactics that keep USSF ahead of any emerging threat.”
STARCOM’s stated goals are to “build the USSF training enterprise, develop a domain-focused education enterprise, develop space doctrine and tactics, build the test and range infrastructure, and develop and reinforce Space Force culture.” The listed functions of the activated deltas include training, doctrine and wargaming, range and aggressor, test and evaluation, and education. According to the Space Force, locations for STARCOM headquarters and four of the deltas—one will be located at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California—will be determined after the Department of the Air Force’s Strategic Basing Process and approval by the Secretary of the Air Force.
So being retired USAF, I HAVE to ask. “Guardians.” I thought they were going to be Space cadets. 🙂