General B. Chance Saltzman Gen. B. Chance “Salty” Saltzman was the second Chief of Space Operations for the United States Space Force. As the CSO, he served 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 advisors to the President, the Secretary of War, and the National Security Council. Gen. Saltzman is a graduate of Boston University and was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program in 1991. He gained 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 Chief of Combat Operations for the Joint Space Operations Center during the seminal Chinese anti-satellite missile launch in 2007. Gen. Saltzman 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. He was the first non-rated officer to serve as the dual-hatted Deputy Commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command and Deputy Combined Force Air Component Commander. Gen. Saltzman transitioned into the Space Force in 2020 and became the first Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear, colloquially referred to as the S2/3/4/6/7/10. In addition to his bachelor’s degree in history from Boston University, Gen. Saltzman has master’s degrees in public administration from the University of Montana and strategic management from The George Washington University. He is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, a distinguished graduate from Air Command and Staff College, and a graduate of the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies and Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. 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, 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, Maxwell AFB, Ala., 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, N.C. 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, N.C. 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, AFSC, 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, HAF, 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, U.S. Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. 22. November 2022–September 2026, 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 Distinguished Service Medal Air and Space Distinguished Service Medal 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 BADGES AND WEAPON SYSTEMS Command Space Badge Missile Operations Badge Air Assault Badge Weapon Systems: Minuteman III, Defense Support Program, Space Based Infrared System OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS 2014 The National Reconnaissance Office Gold Medal 2021 Air & Space Forces Association Schriever Chapter’s Thomas D. White Space Award 2023 Space Force Association’s Spacepower Visionary Leadership Award 2023 Air & Space Forces Association’s Gen. Jerome F. O’Malley Space Visionary Award 2024 Air & Space Forces Association Schriever Chapter’s Gen. Bernard A. Schriever National Space Leadership Award 2025 National Defense Industrial Association Rocky Mountain Chapter’s Gen. James V. Hartinger Award 2026 Space Force Association’s Apex Award 2026 Air & Space Forces Association’s H. H. Arnold Award 2026 National Space Club Huntsville Chapter’s National Security Space Award PUBLICATIONS “Introduction to the United States Air Force,” with Tom Searle, AFROTC Text (AS200), Airpower Research Institute, 2001 “Stay Out: Why Intervention Should Not Be America’s Policy,” Strategic Studies Quarterly, Summer 2009 “Remembrance of Things Past: The Enduring Value of Nuclear Weapons,” with James Wood Forsyth Jr. and Gary Schaub Jr., Strategic Studies Quarterly, Spring 2010 “Minimum Deterrence and Its Critics,” with James Wood Forsyth Jr., Strategic Studies Quarterly, Winter 2010 “Competitive Endurance: Integrated Deterrence to Prevent Conflict in the Space Domain,” Royal Air Force Air and Space Power, July 2024 “Innovating for Effect— Maintaining Our Technical Advantage in the Space Domain,” Defense Acquisition Magazine, Spring 2025 “Perfect is Too Late: How the Space Force is Accelerating Capability Delivery to Win,” Space Force Association, September 2025 “Allied by Design: Multiplying Combat Capability through Allied Spacepower,” Royal Air Force Air and Space Power, July 2026 “The Guardian Generation: Builders in the Arena,” National Spacepower Review, September 2026 (Current as of September 2026)