Remarks by CSO Gen. Chance Saltzman at the 2025 Space Force Association’s Spacepower Conference Published Dec. 11, 2025 Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs ORLANDO, Fla. (AFNS) As delivered by Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman Dec. 11, 2025 -- Good morning. Wow! What a great day! Great to have all the Guardians in one place. Thanks, Ricky, for the intro, as always. I want to also -- thanks to Hippie and all of the Space Force Association team for making this event happen. It's really so valuable to all the Guardians. And on a personal level, I know how much you, Bill, have done individually to establish and grow the Space Force Association into a powerful advocate for the Space Force. So, thank you. And for the first time here at this conference, we have the Secretary of the Air Force here. Yeah. Secretary Meink, I appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule to be here with us. I know all the Guardians feel the same way. And let me tell all the Guardians here how lucky we are to have such a tremendous space professional and leader as our Secretary. His support for the Space Force, his vision for the future: it's ideal. So, thank you, Mr. Secretary. I gotta’ say, talking space in sunny Florida in December with all these Guardians is simply a stellar experience. And as the year winds down, it's only right that we take some time to reflect on some of the incredible things that we've accomplished as a service, as a team of Guardians, in just six short years. Last year, I stood on the stage, and we talked about our core beliefs. Our Six Truths. We reminded everyone how much space matters. We re-committed to our warfighting mission. And we show that Guardians are the preeminent space warfighters the nation needs. Those truths have been our North Star, guiding us on our journey from a “service in establishment” to a purpose-built combat-credible warfighting force. Over the last year, we've demonstrated many successes in this journey. We've proven ourselves to the Joint Force, to our national leaders, and to the American people. Today, the Space Force stands ready, with highly skilled Guardians and cutting-edge capabilities, to fight and win our nation's wars and to guarantee the American way of life. In six short years, we've designed a force that's ready to win. We've developed elite Guardians and lethal weapon systems ready to out-think and outperform our adversaries. We've generated combat space forces ready to meet the demands of the Joint Force. And we employ combat space power for the Joint Force and for the American people every day, securing our nation's interests in, from, and to space. And today I want to talk about that journey from concept to readiness, because each of you has been a part of making it a reality. Now, readiness starts with the right design. Our domain, and all of the conditions that govern it, have changed so dramatically, so quickly, we must recognize that we can't conquer these new challenges with old ways of thinking. So, this spring, we published new and foundational doctrine and planning guidance: our Space Force Doctrine Document-1 and the Space Warfighting Framework, which formed the bedrock of why we exist, what we believe, and how we integrate into the Joint Force. By documenting these foundational thoughts, we can align the decision making and efforts in our acquisition, operations, sustainment, and institutional activities to enable our success in this new domain of war. In 2025, we continued to evolve our mission Deltas across key space warfighting functions. This sped fielding efforts, improved readiness, and improved focus on Service and Combatant Commander priorities. And it's not just U.S capabilities and personnel. We also codified the crucial role of our allies and partners with the release of our International Partnership Strategy. This goes beyond just sharing data with like-minded nations. We integrated our allies and partners into our force design, into key leadership roles across the force, bringing their unique capabilities and skills to the fight. And then we put those designs to the test in the Pacific. Over 700 Guardians from 55 locations around the globe faced off against realistic threats during Resolute Space 25 -- the Department's largest exercise since the Cold War. We planned across a massive joint team, we integrated international capabilities, and we proved the mettle of our combat units. We also learned lessons, applied them, used them to continue to sharpen the cutting edge of integrated space warfare. So, it’s clear: we've designed the service the Joint Force demands, built on solid foundations, strong partnerships, and global reach. But the best architecture and doctrine in the world is irrelevant without professionals to build it or the warfighters to operate it. 2025 was a year of tremendous growth and how we develop our Guardians and how those skilled men and women perform their mission. I'm incredibly proud of them. Over the past year, we've seen the complex national security environment evolving almost daily. We also saw sweeping calls to reform the Department’s acquisition practices. If we expect to win tomorrow's fight – in space, in the air, on land, or at sea – Guardians and their weapon systems must meet and defeat the highly capable threat arrays that are being fielded today. So, we need a new category of Guardians, multi-disciplinary critical thinkers ready to deliver combat wins at the pace of the threat. And in 2025, we started doing just that. We graduated our first class of Guardians from the Officer Training Course; over 80 officers who understand the fundamentals of our space missions and its key activities. And now they are joining their units with the skills to collaborate broadly, perform effectively, and ready to lead combat formations from day one. Additionally, we established a new partnership with Texas A&M for our Captain's Leadership Course, offering the latest and greatest leadership, space power, and Joint Doctrine studies. Enlisted guardians now have space-specific basic training and advanced professional military education. And our vital civilian Guardians, one-third of our workforce, are honing their skills across space strategy, public policy, and acquisitions. Beyond that, we've embraced the Department of War's drive to reform acquisitions. With Secretary Meink’s support and guidance, we have started enhancing how we develop and deliver space capabilities. These initiatives will include a more agile requirements process, reorganized acquisition authorities, and a new organization focused on clearly defining our operational concepts and our Objective Force. And we are redesigning our ops acceptance and fielding activities. As the strategic landscape has evolved, so has the Space Force. And it’s clear we are developing the people, the products, and the processes necessary to ensure security and stability in the space domain. But in the face of these ever-evolving threats, we must translate those capabilities and training into lethal and reliable combat power. This is the most evident thing in our pivot from the legacy Space Operations Command to its new form: Combat Forces Command. CFC represents a strategic shift in focus, evolving our space operations crews into combat units of action. These force elements are specifically structured and trained to plan, prepare, and execute space missions to solve the Joint Force’s toughest problems. And today, through that new command, we're generating combat units of action across each of our core mission areas. These combat units are still reliably executing today's critical missions, but now have dedicated time and energy focused on preparing for crisis and conflict against any adversary who might dare threaten our space capabilities or use space to target the Joint Force. This culture shift from peacetime space operations to combat force generation is one of the largest changes in our six-year history. But through all of your hard work, our combat space forces are better prepared, fully integrated, and ready to respond to any threats to our missions. And through those units of action, we are fulfilling our responsibilities to Combatant Commanders around the globe and our national leadership. In just under three years, we've established Service Components integrating space into Joint operations in the Indo-Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. And we're working on establishing our newest Service Component with U.S Northern Command early next year, further enhancing how we use space to defend the homeland. You'll also be happy to know that this new partnership will make NORAD-NORTHCOM even better at tracking Santa this year. I think we all recognize that without GPS navigation, hypersonic tracking, and global flight safety deconfliction provided by the U.S Space Force, Santa would not be as efficient and effective on Christmas Eve as he needs to be. So, you're welcome. It's kind of a new thing for me. I've just claimed credit for everything Santa Claus does. Get that in my performance report. Space Force units have also enabled global joint operations. Our national leaders understand the importance of what we do. And make no mistake, when our leaders call on the U.S military, the Space Force is there, every time, day or night. When the President ordered airstrikes on strategic targets in the Middle East, Space Force was there, providing precision navigation, critical intelligence, and life-saving missile warning. When the U.S. Navy sent its warships across vast oceans into contested sea lanes, Space force was there with global communications, over the horizon targeting, electronic warfare capabilities, and enhanced situational awareness to help safeguard the fleet. And when recent wildfires, landslides, and tropical storms threatened the lives of Americans and our friends around the world, Space Force was there leveraging commercial space assets to facilitate life-saving humanitarian aid. There's so many more examples. There's no question the U.S Space Force and our Guardians are on the job, 24/7, around the globe. But through all that growth, one thing has remained constant: everything we do starts with you, the Guardians. It's clear we've codified our identity as warfighters. Guardians provide space capabilities to the nation every day. We're ready to fight our nation's wars, and I'm confident, if called on to do so, we will win. But still, I'll be the first to admit our work can sometimes feel invisible. The people we serve may not fully understand what we do, and I know that you all do not get the credit you deserve. That just doesn't matter – we provide vital capabilities, enable our security and our way of life. As you all know, the nation is counting on us. So, while you're focused on executing your mission, don't forget to join me in telling our story. Take every opportunity to spread the word about what Guardians do to secure our interests because it's important for the nation to understand. And in the meantime, we will continue to stand on the invisible front line. VIDEO PLAYS [APPLAUSE] Kind of just want to watch it again. Listen, you heard it from Secretary Meink this morning, you'll continue to hear that story from every senior leader. Guardians are indispensable. The work you do is vital to the nation. The American way of life that we know and love – it just simply wouldn't be possible without you. And before I go any further, let me just say we've had an incredible amount of mission success in just six years. But as you all know, there's so much more to the Space Force than just getting the mission done, 24/7. Take a look at Specialist John Pullen. He just joined the Space Force in July. He did it in impressive fashion. Not only was Specialist Pullen the top Space Force trainee at Basic Military Training, and the winner of the Guardian Spirit award, he was also the top graduate in his entire BMT class, soaring above more than 700 other Air Force and Space Force trainees in leadership, physical fitness, and academics – an unprecedented trifecta of excellence. Let’s give him a round of applause – that was awesome! I'm also honored to share the story of Master Sergeant David Anthony, 3rd Satellite Communications Squadron. Master Sergeant Anthony was on leave in Hunt, Texas, on the 4th of July, when flood waters from the Guadalupe River began to rise. He immediately jumped into action, braving debris-filled waters to save a woman from being swept away, helping another family escape from their submerged home, and leading a total of 28 civilians to safety on higher ground. And although Master Sergeant Anthony sustained multiple injuries that day, he remained with the survivors for hours until rescue crews arrived that night. That’s Guardian Courage if I’ve ever seen it. [APPLAUSE] And then there are 29 teams of innovators who picked up the gauntlet in our 2025 Space Force Artificial Intelligence Challenge, and these brilliant teams put cutting edge AI to work on our hardest problems – from tracking orbital debris to updating personnel records. All the innovations were truly impressive, but one rose above the rest. So, I'm proud to announce the winner of my, the CSO's, Choice Award to the 2025 AI challenge, the Polaris Onboarding Agent. Congratulations! [APPLAUSE] Because of that team, we'll be using AI to help Guardians in-process more quickly and easily when they arrive at a duty station. That's something we can get excited about. So, whether you're crushing your training, innovating to solve hard problems, or just being a good citizen and neighbor, it's impressive Guardians like these, and so many others that I meet every day, who make up our identity. Of course, that identity extends beyond just our Guardians. In a message to the force last fall, I talked about the importance of that identity and the culture it's built on. As a highly technical service, our identity is rooted just as much in the systems we employ as the people who operate them. Over the last year, teams across our operational units have been working hard to define terms of reference that we will use to cement the identities of space weapon systems. Much like the Army has the Abrams tank and the Air Force has the Fighting Falcon, we needed a way to own the identity of our space systems as they enter the joint fight. So, to get this right, we reached out to the field to get inputs. After a lot of feedback and deliberation, we've chosen to represent each of our mission areas with specific symbology. These symbols conjure the character of the systems, the importance of their mission, and the identity of the Guardians who employ them. So, I'm excited to share seven of these themes with you today. Don't worry, there's even more that'll roll out later. Let's start. These include Norse Pantheon, representing the power and dominance of orbital warfare; mythological creatures, conjuring the cunning and adaptability of cyber warfare systems; constellations, reflecting the reach and enduring connection of satellite communications; and ghosts, evoking the silent presence of space domain awareness, just to name a few. Guardians in each Delta help choose these themes to capture the identity of their mission and build their own unique warfighting culture. Now, these themes not only represent our mission areas, but will help elevate the identity of our weapon systems. And today, after lots of work by Guardians in the field, I'm proud to introduce two specific weapon systems named in the spirit of their disciplines. First, the 10th Space Operations Squadron has chosen to name the Ultra-High Frequency Follow-On system – that geostationary communications platform – as Ursa Major. The Big Dipper, as you all know, part of the Ursa Major constellation, famously points to Polaris, our north star, always linking us to our most important missions. And second, the 1st Space Operations Squadron has designated their Operationally Responsive Space, or ORS-5 system, as Bifrost. In Nordic lore, Bifrost is a bridge between Earth and the realm of the gods, just as the Bifrost system in Low Earth Orbit, bridges the divide between the Earth and the higher geostationary orbit of the other 1 SOPS systems. If you like those names, be sure to look for the Guardians from each of those Deltas here in the ballroom this morning. They'll be handing out some limited-edition swag that represents their weapon systems, and you can ask them about what is behind those inspirational names. Don’t worry, though, you're all going to get a chance to play in naming some of our systems. As our sixth year as an independent service comes to a close, it's clear we've accomplished tremendous feats, but we can't lose sight of where we're going. The threats continue to evolve. They continue to grow. The demands of the Joint Force in the nation will only grow more urgent. The challenges we’ll face are going to grow more complex. That's okay. That's why we all chose to be Guardians: because the challenges are great and the team is greater. As we look forward to our seventh year and beyond, I'm excited to be charting a path with you to even better execution, stronger partnerships, and even more talented Guardians. So let me add, as I've said before, space is the ultimate team sport. We simply cannot succeed without our industry teams, without our collaboration with academia, and our international allies and partners. We have a lot of work ahead of us to continue to meet the challenges of the space domain – a domain truly without borders. But I'm certain we'll succeed, because that's what Guardians do. So, in closing, let me leave you with this observation. As I reflect on my three years as the Chief of Space Operations, it's clear that the U.S Space Force is not just participating in the joint fight, we are vital to our nation's security, and essential to the American way of life, and it's our Guardians who make that a reality. You continue to impress me every day, innovating and executing the missions despite immense challenges. You are unmatched in your skill, your drive, and resiliency, and I'm incredibly proud to serve beside you. I have no doubt our Guardians and our Space Force have what it takes to continue securing our nation's interests in, from, and to space. Thank you all. Semper Supra!