Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, in conjunction with Chief of Space Operations (CSO) General John Raymond and Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF) General David Goldfein, authorised the transfer. Currently, Space Force is comprised primarily of units that previously fell under the former Air Force Space Command prior to the service’s establishment on 20 December 2019.
According to Space Force officials, the goal is to have each of the 23 space missions formally transferred from the Air Force into the Space Force within the next three to six months, based on timing and conditions specific to each organisation and mission. The CSAF and CSO have been delegated the authority to actually execute the transfer when they jointly agree the necessary conditions have been met to effect a smooth transfer.
The USAF noted that this transfer plan does not include the physical movement of units or billets to a different geographic location, nor does it include moving any of the people assigned to units. The missions and billets will simply be transferred to the Space Force and remain in place to leverage the talent, infrastructure and key capabilities at their current location.
The mission transfers are aligned with the White House’s Space Policy Directive-4 vision, which calls for the Space Force to “consolidate existing space forces and authorities for military space activities”.
“Building the US Space Force represents a top priority for the Department of the Air Force,” said Secretary Barrett.
“These mission transfers incorporate existing forces into the agile Space Force, which stands ready to defend American and allied interests.”
Approximately 1,840 Air Force positions will be formally transferred into the Space Force from across the 23 units.
The following locations have been identified for a transfer action:
- 17th Test Squadron, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
- 18th Intel Squadron, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
- 25th Space Range Squadron, Schriever AFB, Colorado
- 328th Weapons Squadron, Nellis AFB, Nevada
- 527th Space Aggressor Squadron, Schriever AFB, Colorado
- 705th Combat Training Squadron OL-A, Schriever AFB, Colorado
- 7th Intel Squadron, Ft. Meade, Maryland
- 16th AF/Advanced Programs*, Schriever AFB, Colorado
- 32nd Intel Squadron, Ft. Meade, Maryland
- 566th Intel Squadron, Buckley AFB, Colorado
- 544th ISR Group Staff & Detachment 5, Peterson AFB, Colorado
- Detachment 1, USAF Warfare Center, Schriever AFB, Colorado
- 533rd Training Squadron, Vandenberg AFB, California
- National Security Space Institute, Peterson AFB, Colorado
- AFRL Research Lab Mission Execution, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
- AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico
- AFRL Rocket Propulsion Division, Edwards AFB, California
- AFRL Electro-Optical Division, Maui, Hawaii & Kirtland AFB, New Mexico
- AFRL Sensors Directorate, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
- Counter-Space Analysis Squadron, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
- Space Analysis Squadron, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
- Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Detachment 4, Peterson AFB, Colorado
- Air Force Safety Center - Space Safety Division, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico
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