Notional image of a SBIRS Missile Warning Satellite built on the new, more resilient LM 2100 Combat Bus™ (illustration by Lockheed Martin).

Biographies



General B. Chance Saltzman

Gen. B. Chance Saltzman is the Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force. As Chief, he serves as the senior uniformed Space Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipping of all organic and assigned space forces serving in the United States and overseas.  As members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of Space Operations and other service chiefs function as military advisers to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council, and the President.

Gen. Saltzman is a graduate of Boston University and was commissioned in 1991.  He has operational experience with missile and space systems, as a Minuteman III launch officer, and as a satellite operator for the National Reconnaissance Office.  He also served as the first Chief of Combat Plans for the Joint Space Operations Center, and later, as Chief of Combat Operations.
 
Gen. Saltzman has commanded at the squadron, group, and wing levels including the 614th Space Operations Squadron and 1st Space Control Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; the 460th Operations Group at Buckley AFB, Colorado; and the Aerospace Data Facility Colorado, Aurora, Colorado.  Before serving in his current assignment, Gen. Saltzman was the Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear, United States Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.

 

EDUCATION

1991 Bachelor of Arts, History, Boston University, Mass.
1992 Distinguished Graduate, Undergraduate Missile Training, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
1994 Master of Public Administration, University of Montana, Missoula
1997 Air Assault School, Fort Belvoir, Va.       
1998 Master of Strategic Management, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
1998 Distinguished Graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.  
2001 Distinguished Graduate, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
2004 Distinguished Graduate, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2005 School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2006 Air War College, by correspondence.
2009 Senior Developmental Education National Fellowship, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2010 Director of Space Forces Course, National Security Space Institute, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2011 Leadership Enhancement Program, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, NC
2014 Joint and Combined Warfighting School, Joint Professional Military Education II, Norfolk, Va.
2017 Continuous Process Improvement for Executives, Institute for Defense Business, Durham, N.C.
2017 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill   
2018 Leadership Decision Making Course, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2018 Combined Force Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2021 Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

 

ASSIGNMENTS

  1. March 1992–July 1992, Student, Undergraduate Missile Training, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
  2. July 1992–June 1996, Missile Combat Crew, 10th Strategic Missile Squadron and Wing Missile Combat Crew Instructor and Evaluator, 341st Strategic Missile Wing, Malmstrom AFB, Mont.
  3. July 1996–May 1998, Air Force Intern, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.     
  4. June 1998–June 2001, Flight Commander, OD-Four, National Reconnaissance Office, Onizuka Air Station, Calif.
  5. July 2001–June 2003, Instructor, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
  6. July 2003–June 2004, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
  7. July 2004–June 2005, Student, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
  8. July 2005–June 2006, Chief, Combat Plans Division, Joint Space Operations Center, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
  9. July 2006–June 2007, Commander, 614th Space Operations Squadron, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
  10. July 2007–June 2008, Commander, 1st Space Control Squadron, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.    
  11. July 2008–June 2009, National Security Fellow, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
  12. July 2009–May 2010, Chief, Strategic Plans and Policy Division, Directorate of Operational Planning, Policy and Strategy, Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
  13. June 2010–June 2012, Commander, 460th Operations Group, Buckley AFB, Colo.
  14. June 2012–June 2014, Commander, Aerospace Data Facility – Colorado, Buckley AFB, Colo.
  15. June 2014–February 2015, Deputy Director, Plans and Programs, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.
  16. March 2015–May 2016, Executive Officer to the Commander, Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.
  17. June 2016–May 2017, Director of Future Operations, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
  18. June 2017–May 2019, Director of Current Operations, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
  19. May 2019–May 2020, Deputy Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command; Deputy, Combined Force Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia
  20. June 2020-August 2020, Special Assistant to the Vice Chief of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
  21. August 2020-November 2022, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear, United States Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
  22. November 2022-Present, Chief of Space Operations, U.S. Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.

 

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS

  1. July 2005–June 2006, Chief, Combat Plans Division, Joint Space Operations Center, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., as a major
  2. July 2006–June 2008, Chief, Combat Operations Division, Joint Space Operations Center, Vandenberg AFB, Calif., as a lieutenant colonel

 

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters                 
Defense Meritorious Service Medal       
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Joint Service Achievement Medal                           
Air and Space Achievement Medal

 

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

Thomas D. White Space Award
National Reconnaissance Office Gold Medal

 

PUBLICATIONS

“Minimum Deterrence and Its Critics,” with James Wood Forsyth Jr., Strategic Studies Quarterly, Winter 2010
“Remembrance of Things Past: The Enduring Value of Nuclear Weapons,” with James Wood Forsyth Jr. and Gary Schaub Jr., Strategic Studies Quarterly, Spring 2010
“Stay Out: Why Intervention Should Not Be America’s Policy,” Strategic Studies Quarterly, Summer 2009
“Introduction to the United States Air Force,” with Tom Searle, AFROTC Text (AS200), Airpower Research Institute, 2001

 

BADGES AND WEAPON SYSTEMS

Command Space Badge
Missile Operations Badge
Air Assault Badge           
Weapon Systems: Minuteman III, Defense Support Program, Space Based Infrared System

 

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION

Second Lieutenant May 15, 1991       
First Lieutenant Oct 18, 1993    
Captain Oct 18, 1995           
Major Aug 1, 2002    
Lieutenant Colonel Mar 1, 2006
Colonel Oct 1, 2009                    
Brigadier General July 3, 2016
Major General Sep 4, 2019    
Lieutenant General Aug 7, 2020
General Nov 2, 2022
 
(Current as of November 2022)