Space Force announces field command structure, including new acquisition organization

By Courtney Albon / June 30, 2020 at 1:32 PM

The Space Force today announced that its new organizational structure will include three field commands aimed at consolidating its mission and separating it from former Air Force space units: Space Operations Command, Space Systems Command and Space Training and Readiness Command.

The service said in a press release that Space Operations Command and Space Systems Command will be led by three-star generals whereas Space Training and Readiness Command, or STARCOM, will be led by a two-star general.

"This is a historic opportunity to launch the Space Force on the right trajectory to deliver the capabilities needed to ensure freedom of movement and deter aggression in, from and to space," Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond said in the release. "How we organize the Space Force will have lasting impact on our ability to respond with speed and agility to emerging threats."

Space Systems Command (SSC) will oversee space capability development, acquisition and fielding and will include the Space and Missile Systems Center, Commercial Satellite Communications Office and space system program offices as its foundational "building blocks," the release states.

Space Operations Command (SpOC) will be the "primary force provider" in response to combatant commander, coalition partner and joint force needs, and will be comprised of the staff and operations elements currently housed at Air Force Space Command in Colorado.

STARCOM will be in charge of space training and education and is slated to be stood up in 2021. In the interim, the Space Force will establish a Space Training and Readiness Delta unit in July to serve as a "parent organization" for training, education and operational test and evaluation units that transfer to the Space Force this summer.

The release notes that there will be other delta units, which fall underneath each command and are organized around particular functions and comprised of squadrons focused on specific tactics.

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