WASHINGTON â The United Statesâ first chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force is still wearing his U.S. Air Force uniform.
âBut Iâm not in the Air Force anymore,â says Gen. John âJayâ Raymond. âIâm in the Space Force.â
Two days after being sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence as chief of space operations, Raymond remains, for now, the only official member of the newest branch of the U.S. armed forces. The Space Force was signed into law Dec. 20 by President Donald Trump.
âThere is a lot of planning going on,â Raymond told SpaceNews Jan. 16 in his first media interview since becoming chief of the U.S. Space Force.
Raymond and Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Jan. 15 briefed Trump on the initial steps in the organization of the Space Force.
âI thought it was important that we give him an update on what we did on day one and where weâre headed,â Raymond said. âIt was a really good conversation.â
It was Trump who directed the Pentagon in June 2018 to establish a U.S. Space Force but it wasnât until Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act and the president signed it Dec. 20 that the sixth branch of armed forces came into being. âThis is the presidentâs vision,â said Raymond. âWeâre moving out to implement it.â
Raymond reports directly to Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett. For the next year, he will be dual-hatted as commander of U.S. Space Command and chief of the U.S. Space Force. He oversees staff in Colorado Springs and in the Pentagon that are helping plan the new service. âThere are a lot of decisions to be made,â he said.
Even though his uniform says Air Force, Raymondâs military ID says âSpace Force.â
The Space Force eventually will have its own uniforms, logo and seal that will become part of the serviceâs unique identity. These are still being designed, he said. âWeâre working that really hard.â
Raymond will be splitting his time between the Pentagon and U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs. Regardless of where he might be physically located, âIâm 100 percent of the time commander of U.S. Space Command and 100 percent of the time chief of space operations,â he said.
âIt has been helpful to be dual hatted,â Raymond said. That allows him to âmake tradesâ as both U.S. Space Command and the U.S. Space Force get built out. After the first year, someone else will be nominated to run the Space Force. âSplitting the hats is absolutely the right thing to do to get singular focus on the warfighting side and singular focus on the organize-train-equip side,â he said. The one-year transition âgives us a grace period to make that shift.â
The NDAA said the chief of space operations could become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a year. But Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley requested that Raymond be on the Joint Chiefs immediately because of the importance of space to national security. âIâm a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today,â Raymond said.
Maj. Gen. Stephen Whiting is the deputy commander of the U.S. Space Force based in Colorado Springs. At the Pentagon, Lt. Gen. David âDTâ Thompson serves as the vice commander. In the future someone will be nominated to be the vice chief of staff of the Space Force. âWe havenât begun to work that yet,â Raymond said.
The Pentagon-based staff now has about 40 people but will grow to 200 by March. The first official hire was a civilian to oversee personnel administration and policy.
Patricia Mulcahy, a member of the senior executive service who was deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for force management integration, is now the head of personnel for the Space Force. This is a key hire, said Raymond, as Mulcahy will help âopen up the processes to bring the others on board.â
The plan is to transfer thousands of airmen who currently perform space duties into the Space Force. On Dec. 20, Barrett assigned to the Space Force 16,000 airmen and civilians who worked under Air Force Space Command. But none of them, other than Raymond, have yet left the Air Force.
âSome of those airmen will come off the books of the Air Force and into the Space Force. And some wonât,â said Raymond. Identifying what units will join the Space Force is part of the planning that is now underway. In addition to personnel from the former Air Force Space Command, training units based at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, as well as science and technology labs might be moved over. Compared to the other branches, said Raymond, the Space Force will be âmore of a technology focused service.â
Another goal is to bring in members of the other military services. âOne of the homework assignments is to come back with a proposal to Congress for next year to open this up to other services,â said Raymond. There will be a plan to integrate National Guard and Reserve forces as well. âWe rely very heavily on the Guard and Reserves today,â he said. âWeâre going to figure out the best way to utilize those forces.â
There is no playbook
The United States hasnât established a separate service since 1947 when the Air Force was stood up. âItâs not like there was this playbook that said âstep one: do this,ââ said Raymond.
Many people are curious about the uniforms, the logos and the patches, but there is so much more that goes into creating a service. âWhat do you call an airman thatâs in space? Eventually weâll have to have a service song. Thereâs lots of different thoughts,â he said. âSome pieces are imminently going to be announced. Other pieces are going to take a couple of months as we continue to refine things.â
What field commands will be created under the Space Force is another key decision. A group of 120 military and civilian leaders last week met to discuss possible field organizations. âIâm not ready to announce any decisions yet,â said Raymond. âWeâll continue to refine it.â
The Space Force could end up with three major field organizations but that is still being debated. One would be focused on operations, another on acquisitions and a third on training and professional development. Barrett on Dec. 20 redesignated the 14th Air Force as Space Operations Command, which would be one of the field organizations. The acquisition command would absorb the Space and Missile Systems Center and other smaller organizations.
The NDAA directed the establishment of a Space Acquisition Council and created a new assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration position.
How the Space Force will organize its acquisition office is now being deliberated, said Raymond. âWeâll present that to Congressâ in the coming months. The goal is to create an organization that will be nimble and move faster than traditional military procurement offices.
Air Force bases to be renamed
Air Force bases that predominantly do space operations will be renamed Space Force bases, said Raymond. That would include Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base and Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado; Patrick Air Force in Florida; Vandenberg Air Force Base in California; Cavalier Air Force Station in North Dakota; Alaskaâs Clear Air Force Station and Thule Air Base in Greenland.
âI expect over the coming months weâll work to rename those,â said Raymond.
The Air Force however will continue to run those bases. âWe are not transferring into the Space Force all the support functions that would be needed to run bases.â
Raymond said renaming bases is one of many changes that will help build a space-focused culture that over time will shape the identity of the service.
âThereâs so much excitement,â said Raymond. The number-one question he gets asked is âhow do I join?â he said. The Space Force has an opportunity to attract recruits who typically would not think of joining the military but are passionate about space, said Raymond. âWe have a lot of people knocking on our door wanting to be part of this.â
Talk about re inventing the wheel! We ALREADY have a space force. It’s called Solar Warden.This clandestine operation .began its service under the guise of Reagan’s. “Star Wars” and in the era of his [in]famous “alien threat among us” speech before the UN. Space faring craft were designed by a genius named Bill Tomkins. He started his career as a 17 year old Tesla like designer enlisted by the USG to come up with battleship type space craft. They have purportedly sailed past our solar system to the Oort field and beyond defending our borders. Now the question is..from WHOM? Or more eerily..WHAT! Suspect the obvious here folks. There’s going to be a lot of “back pedaling” on this issue which take on the military-industrial-intelligence complex. There will be an interim of silence as PTB will have to fabricate a narrative to satisfy the public as to where 2.3 trillion Dollars of the military budget evaporated one day before 9\11 according to then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Hang onto your hats folks. This oughta be fun !