MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond visited several Air University schools and space-oriented programs Sept. 1, 2021.
His visit to AU marks the first since the establishment of the Space Training and Readiness Command, or STARCOM Aug. 23, 2021.
The general met with leadership and staff of Space Delta 13, one of the five STARCOM Deltas activated along with STARCOM. Delta 13 is initially located at Maxwell AFB and will lead institutional developmental education and develop officer accessions for the USSF.
“Education and training are the foundation for everything STARCOM does,” said Raymond. “We educate and train every day to prepare Guardians to decisively win anywhere, anytime. STARCOM’s mission is accomplished through its five subordinate Deltas, which are organized around a specific function such as training; doctrine and wargaming; range and aggressor functions; test and evaluation; and education.”
The general also met with students and faculty at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Air War College, and Air Command and Staff College.
Shortly after the U.S. Space Force was established in December 2019, Air University began increasing space curricula in its professional military education and incorporating space into accessioning programs. From the initial touchpoints in a junior Guardian’s continuum of education to advanced courses for senior enlisted and officers, the university has been presenting space curriculum that is focused on developing joint-minded graduates prepared for joint, all-domain conflict where the space domain is likely to be contested, degraded and operationally limited.
Two examples of how Air University has bolstered its space academics are by doubling the number of students accepted into ACSC’s Schriever Space Scholars Concentration and the establishment of AWC’s West Space Seminar this academic year.