STARCOM stands up C2 course to prepare Guardians for joint operations

Published June 2, 2026
By Brandon Kalloo Sanes
Space Training and Readiness Command

PATRICK SPACE FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) --

Guardians in uniform standing in group — Twenty-one Guardian students assigned to the 55th Training Squadron, Space Delta 11, pose for a photo following their graduation from the Space Component Staff Course at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., May 21, 2026. Students participated in the SCSC which prepares Guardians to support joint and combined operations through training focused on operational planning and space integration. During the course, students completed instruction designed to train them on how to conduct and orchestrate space operations as part of an integrated, all-domain campaign. (U.S. Space Force photo by Airman 1st Class Olya Houtsma)

Space Training and Readiness Command graduated the first class of its new Space Component Staff Course May 22, 2026, preparing Guardians for assignments supporting combatant commands and joint operations across the force.

Developed by Space Delta 11’s 55th Training Squadron, the four-week course based at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, gives Guardians a foundation in joint planning and command and control.

Before the course was established, command and control training existed across multiple venues. However, there was no mandatory, standardized approach.

“As the Space Force continues to field service components, they must be combat-ready and able to effectively integrate and synchronize space capabilities across combatant commands,” said Lt. Col. Mark Scott, 55th TRS commander. “Prior to the Space Component Staff Course, the Space Force lacked a holistic, institutional training program preparing Guardians for these roles.”

Course development began in June 2025 following the re-alignment of the 55th TRS under STARCOM. Instructors developed course material, practical exercises and evaluation methods while building the program.

“Guardians will be more prepared to integrate into the joint force,” Scott said. “All the services speak different languages, so this should baseline them to integrate more quickly.”

Guardians in classroom setting — Capt. Meagan Zering, Space Component Staff Course director, instructs the inaugural SCSC at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., May 21, 2026. The course equips Guardians with operational planning skills and exposure to joint and space-focused command and control processes designed to support integrated all-domain operations. (U.S. Space Force Photo by Airman 1st Class Olya Houtsma)

Students from all Space Force career fields, including intelligence, space operations, cyber, acquisitions and engineering, attend the course.

“It is important to level set all career fields before presenting them to a space component because no two backgrounds are identical,” said Capt. Meagan Zering, 55th TRS Space Component Staff Course director. “Blending that baseline knowledge with their individual experience and training them all together adds value to a component commander’s staff.”

As the Space Force continues to mature, leaders say efforts like this are critical to building a force that can operate seamlessly with partners across the Department of War. STARCOM plans to conduct six course iterations in 2026, training approximately 170 Guardians with expected growth as operational demand increases.