U.S. Air Force selects six locations to house Space Force’s various headquarters

The U.S. Department of the Air Force announced this week that it has chosen six locations throughout the United States to house Space Force Training and Readiness Command Headquarters. 

The Space Force, the smallest and newest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, has been divided into three field commands, including STARCOM. Going forward, STARCOM’s responsibilities of developing, educating, and training space soldiers; developing doctrine, tactics, and techniques for space warfare; and both testing and evaluating USSF systems will be centered on:

1. Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.
2. Vandenberg SFB, Calif.
3. Buckley SFB, Colo.
4. Schriever SFB, Colo.
5. Peterson SFB, Colo.
6. Patrick SFB, Fla.

Actual STARCOM HQ is working out of Colorado Springs, Colo., until its permanent location is determined. Meanwhile, its organization consists of five deltas, all with a stake in the new locales. Site surveys conducted by the Air Force will begin later this month or early in May to determine which will be best suited to host STARCOM HQ.

As to the deltas, they include:

1. Delta 1: Training – set at Vandenberg and focused on training for USSF forces and joint/allied partners.
2. Delta 10: Doctrine/Wargaming – responsible for developing USSF doctrine and tactics, conducting its lessons learned program, and pursuing wargames. Currently, Patrick SFB is the only base being considered for this delta due to its proximity to a Department of Defense modeling and simulation capability with space expertise.
3. Delta 11: Range/Aggressor – provides informed test and training environments, utilizing live, virtual, and construction range and combat replication capability. Schriever SFB and a separate base, Kirtland AFB in New Mexico, are being considered to host it. 
4. Delta 12: Test/Evaluation – prepares Space Force assets for contested, degraded, and operationally-limited environments through testing and evaluation of USSF capabilities and by providing expert information on weapon systems. Like Delta 11, Schriever and Kirtland are being considered as hosts.
5. Delta 13: Education – responsible for educating at the institutional and officer levels. Still needs a curriculum and structure before a permanent location can be selected.

Site surveys for Deltas 10, 11, and 12 are expected to finish this year. Assessments for each will be based on mission, infrastructure capacity, community support, environmental considerations, and cost.