{"id":42582,"date":"2019-03-26T16:02:06","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T16:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/26\/air-forces-top-space-officer-tapped-to-lead-us-space-command\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:23:08","slug":"air-forces-top-space-officer-tapped-to-lead-us-space-command","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2019\/03\/26\/air-forces-top-space-officer-tapped-to-lead-us-space-command\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force\u2019s top space officer tapped to lead US Space Command"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The Air Force\u2019s top space officer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/federal-budget\/2019\/03\/12\/heres-how-much-money-the-defense-department-wants-for-its-trio-of-new-space-organizations\/\" target=_blank>has been nominated to lead U.S. Space Command<\/a>, the new unified combatant command that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/12\/18\/trump-signs-order-to-create-us-space-command\/\" target=_blank>President Donald Trump called to be re-established<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If confirmed, Gen. John Raymond will have a dual-hat role: as commander of U.S. Space Command and his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2019\/02\/19\/trump-signs-off-on-organizing-the-space-force-under-the-air-forcefor-now\/\" target=\"_blank\">current position as head of Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, it\u2019s unclear how long that will continue. If a Space Force is approved by Congress and established as a sixth branch of the military under the Department of the Air Force, it\u2019s possible that Air Force Space Command could be dissolved as the service\u2019s space functions transfer over to the Space Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2019\/01\/29\/shanahan-has-identified-space-command-head\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/37721336822_f40014044a_k.jpg_a238f2.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Shanahan has identified top pick to lead Space Command<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Additional details on Space Command, including where it will be based, are expected to be shared around the release of the FY20 budget.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even if Air Force Space Command is maintained, the position of U.S. Space Command could later be separated from its Air Force-specific counterpart as a final location for SPACECOM headquarters is decided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike the creation of a Space Force, the Trump administration can create U.S. Space Command without input from Congress. Unlike the Space Force, which will be responsible for generating, training and equipping space forces, SPACECOM will be charged with employing those forces in daily operations or a future conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the Air Force\u2019s senior space officer, Raymond was widely considered the favorite to command SPACECOM \u2014 a position that seemed even more certain after the administration agreed to locate the Space Force under the Department of the Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even so, Raymond\u2019s nomination is a major win for the Air Force, cementing the service\u2019s ability to shape the military\u2019s space enterprise as it is overhauled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It also triggers questions about which military official could be tapped to lead the Space Force \u2014 if approved by Congress \u2014 as the service\u2019s first chief of staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although Raymond has largely remained out of the spotlight as the Defense Department worked through its plans to stand up U.S. Space Command and the Space Force, he publicly stressed the need for the Air Force to shift to a war-fighting posture in space.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/newsletters\/digital-show-daily\/2018\/09\/18\/how-the-air-force-plans-to-use-space-to-project-power-in-the-21st-century-2\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"165\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Multidomain.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">How the Air Force plans to use space to project power in the 21st century<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">One reason space is so important not just to the Air Force, but all military services, is that space assets enable multidomain operations that are becoming the norm in the modern warfare.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf deterrence fails, I am convinced \u2026 if we are up against a peer or near peer, we are going to have to fight for space superiority,\u201d he said in September at an Air Force Association conference. \u201cAs the National Defense Strategy talks about, that\u2019s going to require capability from multiple domains to come forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Raymond took command of AFSPC in 2016 following a one-year stint at the Pentagon as deputy chief of staff for operations. From January 2014 to August 2015, he served as commander of 14th Air Force and the Joint Functional Component Command for Space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout his career, Raymond has held positions entrenched in space operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After being commissioned through the Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps program at Clemson University in 1984, some of his early jobs included acting as a Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile crew commander at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota; chief of commercial space lift operations at Peterson Air Force Base; and the Air Force\u2019s lead programmer for space and missile forces at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also commanded the 5th Space Surveillance Squadron at Royal Air Force Feltwell, England; the 30th Operations Group at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; and the 21st Space Wing at Peterson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If confirmed, this general will have a dual-hat role: as commander of U.S. Space Command and his current position as head of Air Force Space Command.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":59242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":23,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["your-air-force","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-air-force"}}},"categories":[7,160,163,36,19,23],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3384],"class_list":["post-42582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-military-space-report","category-newsletters","category-pentagon","category-space"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"FFZUA6R4UVFMDCTXPT5CCJPOFM","arc_canonical_url":"\/space\/2019\/03\/26\/air-forces-top-space-officer-tapped-to-lead-us-space-command\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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