ORLANDO, Fla. (AFNS) — U.S. Space Force senior leaders discussed the Space Force’s efforts to implement the Space Force Personnel Management Act during the Space Force Association’s Spacepower Conference in Orlando, Dec. 11.
The Space Force Personnel Management Act marks a significant step towards the evolving structure of the U.S. Space Force by integrating and streamlining active-component Guardians and Air Force Reservists in space-focused career fields to offer both full- and part-time service options.
Panelists included Katharine Kelley, U.S. Space Force deputy chief of space operations for human capital, Lt. Gen. David N. Miller, Jr., commander of Space Operations Command, and Brig. Gen. Nathan D. Yates, the mobilization assistant to the deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear, who also leads the implementation of the Space Force Personnel Management Act.
“We are leveraging the flexibility that the Personnel Management Act gives us in order to sequence and prioritize where we place talent, but also with a mindset towards there are going to be things that we do that have been different than [what] we’ve done it in the past,” Miller said.
Kelley also added how the Personnel Management Act grants the service further opportunities to connect experience from other sectors and tie them into a tangible job that uses the skillset to support the needs of the Space Force.
Throughout the panel, the senior leaders emphasized how the PMA will grant Guardians the flexibility to balance their military roles alongside their personal life circumstances – all while the Space Force retains its talent and continues evolving to meet its operational and warfighting need.
“The success here is that we’re going to close readiness gaps in tactical formations because of the flexibility of the Personnel Management Act,” Miller said. “We’re simultaneously going to be able to align the talent and expertise that we have towards some of the harder problems … So, we’re solving both readiness challenges [and] solving the talent management and placement challenges.”
This fundamental shift in structure requires a methodical approach that the senior leaders described as a ‘crawl, walk, run’ method that will take time to fully implement.
“As a service, we are looking at how we need to organize ourselves,” Kelley explained. “We are looking at where we have demand and not enough supply, and we’re looking at what really needs to be a full-time mission, and then what could a part-time mission.”
Yates added how the service is going through the process of managing full- and part-time in the Space Force with clear eye towards the operational warfighter needs that the Space Force has.
The leaders also highlighted the first tranche of Air Force Reservists who applied to the recently concluded application window for joining the U.S. Space Force in a fulltime capacity, which concluded Nov. 30.
The senior leaders also described what the PMA’s success look like.
Miller and Yates described how success includes how the service leverages legislative authorities to address key gaps to improve readiness for the force and further develop the service’s culture and identity that the PMA is how Guardians operate. With the PMA, the Space Force directly leverages the skillsets of Guardians in a way that the service members feel valued and that they provide value to the Space Force.
Kelley concluded the panel by highlighting that the PMA’s success should be an opportunity for other services to have the ability and knowledge to leverage the adaptability and flexible talent management system like the PMA.
Once fully implemented, the PMA will grant the service a flexible approach to its recruitment and retainment strategy that ensures the service can leverage its expertise for emerging demands effectively.
source: www.spaceforce.mil