Space Force revamps its mission statement

To echo the Guardians' function of defending America's interest in space, the Space Force announced Sept. 6 a new mission statement -- "secure our Nation's interest in, from and to space."

“We did not hire a corporate marketing team to develop a catch phrase. Nor did generals sit around a table in the Pentagon debating what the statement should be,” Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operation, said in the announcement.

“Our mission statement was sourced from a Guardian-driven process,” he said.

The service received 135 responses within two weeks after Saltzman asked Guardians to “choose the words that describe their shared mission” in May, the announcement states.

In July, the service hosted eight focus groups that included participation from officer, enlisted and civilian Guardians from four field commands and significant commands to provide feedback and pull together a new phrase -- the new mission statement.

According to the announcement, each word chosen represents a vital aspect of the Space Force mission.

The “secure” in the statement refers to the service’s functions to contest and control the space domain on behalf of the nation and joint force if directed. “Our Nation’s interests” reflects the Guardian’s focus on defending the security of the U.S. in space as well as reflects on the importance of space activities.

The service said the “in, from and to space” represents the service’s functions -- “in space” refers to securing the nation’s interest by performing space activities to protect from enemies and counter space threats, “from space” by delivering global mission operations and “to space” by having assured access to space via vehicle launch.

“Our mission statement is a call that concisely encapsulates our purpose and identity as Guardians and members of the profession of arms,” Saltzman said.