📋 Tender Overview
COLORADO SPRINGS Colo. (AFNS) -- At this weeks 40th Space Symposium leaders from made it clear: the U.S. Space Force isnt just refining how it trains Guardians - its leveraging the development of Guardians--officer enlisted and civilian--to further the services combat credibility.
STARCOM deputy commander joined a panel on the evolution of the space cadre alongside leaders from the Royal Air Force and . The Space Force is realizing a vision from decades ago when space expertise was scattered across the military and lacked a dedicated focus.
If you go back a number of years we had a variety of space experts across the U.S. military and within the United States Air Force we had a subset - a major command - that was focused on space Cantore said. But it certainly was just one of a variety of specialties the larger Air Force had.
He referenced the early 2000s Rumsfeld Commission report which called for greater focus on space as a warfighting domain. That report helped lay the foundation for the creation of the Space Force and the deliberate structure STARCOM is building today bringing officers enlisted and civilian Guardians together to achieve a common purpose: to secure our nations interests in from and to space.
Our officers are our primary joint planners... our enlisted are the services primary warfighters... and our civilians give us opportunities for longevity [and] increased technical specification where needed Cantore said.
STARCOM commander echoed that structure during a separate panel focused on workforce development. He emphasized how Chief of Space Operations s guidance on specific Guardian roles became a foundation for the services new direction. That was actually very foundational in all of our minds Sejba said. Because for many years in some cases we used some of our workforce probably interchangeably - and probably not as efficiently as we should have.
With just 15000 members Sejba said deliberate development is not optional. Theres not a lot of room for overlap he said. You have to make sure youre hiring the right talent and developing them to perform those roles for the service.
That development starts early. Sejba highlighted the Space Forces year-long Officer Training Course at which began in September 2024. Every new officer cycles through four months each of space operations intelligence and cyber. The first cohort is currently wrapping up the intelligence block and preparing to begin cyber.
Theyre going to understand the threat - not just for space but for cyber as well Sejba said. Theyre going to understand how that threat materializes... both against the space segment from a space operations standpoint but also from a cyber operations standpoint and against the ground infrastructure.
Cantore speaking on enlisted development pointed to the Vosler Academy Fellowships as a complete rework of traditional leadership courses. They are completely rebuilt retooled giving a unique experience for our NCOs and specialists... and the results thus far have been fantastic he said.
Sejba noted that enlisted Guardians are being trained with more technical depth than ever. Theyre going to perform roles on an ops floor that maybe in the past would have been done by an officer he said. The same intentionality extends to civilian Guardians. Sejba described recent pilot courses in Los Angeles and Colorado Springs designed to give new civilian hires a clear understanding of the service and their place in it. It was an overwhelming success he said. A third iteration is scheduled for the National Capital Region later this month.
We need to make sure Guardians have the opportunity to interface with leaders at various levels... so they can make this not just a short-term experience but a long-term career dedicated to supporting our nation Cantore said. And we will.
Innovation and foresight are also embedded into how STARCOM prepares for future conflict. My Delta 10 team at is responsible for doing a lot of that high-end wargaming - understanding what the situation could be in the five- to fifteen-year range from now Sejba said.
He pointed to Schriever Wargame the CSOs Title 10 wargame as one of the Space Forces key tools to avoid operational surprise. We have that [SW25] this coming August he said. Just like in the past well have almost 500 participants... almost 200 of those from our allied partners with at least 10 nations.
Sejba also underscored how industry is reshaping innovation. There is innovation happening everywhere you turn he said. Ten years ago we probably would have had a couple dozen companies that we would have turned to fairly regularly. Now... we are going to hundreds of companies every time that we need a new proposal.
That focus extends to advanced education. STARCOMs Intermediate Level Education and Senior Level Education programs support field grade officers in deepening their strategic expertise. Our ILE/SLE program that we have for our majors and our lieutenant colonels... that Johns Hopkins University model is what I think we need to scale Sejba said. Through a partnership with the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies STARCOM offers Guardians a graduate-level alternative to traditional military education combining joint warfighting concepts with deeper exposure to global strategy and security policy. I was just talking to a colonel yesterday who on the Air Force side there are folks fighting to get into that school because of how unique it is he said.
He pointed to academic institutions that have historically supported the nations space enterprise especially those located near major launch and research hubs as examples of the kind of infrastructure the Space Force can leverage to grow technically proficient Guardians.
Were not going to do all the education ourselves - and I dont think we need to Sejba added.
Both panels emphasized that STARCOM isnt just refining training but reshaping how the Space Force prepares for the rea
