Space Force

WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was sworn into his new role leading America's 3.5 million service members and civilians by Vice President JD Vance the morning of Jan. 18, following Hegseth's Jan. 17th’s evening Senate confirmation. “When President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense,” Hegseth said during his Jan. 14 confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.  “He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on lethality, meritocracy, warfighting, accountability and ...

AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar (AFNS) --  In a significant milestone for the U.S. Space Force, U.S. Space Forces - Central officially broke ground on the Space Campus at Al Udeid Air Base, Jan. 14. The ceremony, attended by key personnel and stakeholders, marked the beginning of a new era in space capabilities for the region.The Space Campus is a major initiative aimed at enhancing the base's space operations and capabilities in the area. The project is designed to provide a state-of-the-art facility for personnel to work together and advance the mission, supporting the growing demands of space-related activities.Col. Frank Brooks, Space Forces Central deputy commander, delivered remarks during the ceremony, highlighting the importance of the Space Campus an...

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) --  Vandenberg Space Force Base has revolutionized west coast space and test launch with an historic 51 launches in 2024 from the United States Space Force’s West Coast Spaceport and Test Range. This achievement was driven by the base's commitment to innovation, revising practices and procedures and close partnerships with launch and test mission partners. "This year marks a historic milestone for our nation's space launch capabilities, achieving a level of activity not seen in the past 50 years at Vandenberg," said Col. Mark Shoemaker, Space Launch Delta 30 commander. "As we accelerate our space launch efforts and push boundaries, we are rewriti...

PATRICK SPACE FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) --  A joint-task force of Guardsmen and Reservists conquer air, space and sea to provide Human Space Flight Support training for astronaut retrieval through search and rescue Jan. 14-17, at Patrick Space Force Base.Guardsmen from the 204th Airlift Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, joined hands with Reservists from the 315th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, and the 308th Rescue Squadron, Patrick SFB, Florida, to train on HSFS search and rescue airdrop techniques, used to retrieve astronauts from open-ocean waters upon returning to Earth.“The developments in the space industry from 2020, when [JB] Hickam originally picked up this alert, until now, show an increase in SpaceX launche...

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) --  The Department of the Air Force Mentoring Program is launching a series of events throughout January 2025 marking National Mentoring Month. First launched in January 2002, National Mentoring Month is a call to action for all Airmen and Guardians to engage in mentoring relationships, both as mentors and mentees.NMM introduces the Total Force to a series of panels, events and interactive discussions on mentoring as an enterprise imperative, ensuring greater awareness of the mentoring opportunities available to all Airman and Guardians and empowering them to reach their fullest potential.The Department of Defense 2025 theme for NMM is “Mentoring tomorrow’s leaders today.” Aligned under this is the DAF NMM theme for 2025, “Transfo...