PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. –
U.S. Space Command Commander Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond recognized the establishment of the nation’s 11th combatant command in a joint ceremony Sept. 9 2019.
Following the formal establishment ceremony in the White House Rose Garden on Aug. 29, the early September ceremony provided an opportunity for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to hear from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. and Raymond on the importance of the USSPACECOM mission.
“The enduring mission of the Defense Department is to provide combat credible military forces that deter war, protect the nation, and respond if deterrence fails,” Dunford said. “As General Raymond and others have been saying for years, ‘we can no longer take our access to space for granted.’ Space is a contested domain. The implications to that fact affects our ability to fight and win on future battlefields. In that context, we didn’t re-establish U.S. Space Command simply to compete in space. We formed this command as a foundational element of more effective joint warfighting.”
The USSPACECOM mission is to deter aggression and conflict, defend U.S. and allied freedom of action, deliver space combat power for the Joint/Combined force, and develop joint warfighters to advance U.S. and allied interests in, from, and through the space domain.
“We find ourselves at a strategic inflection point, where there is nothing we do as a joint force that isn’t enabled by space," Raymond said as he addressed several hundred in attendance. "Yet, simultaneously, we can no longer have the luxury of assuming space superiority. The mantle of responsibility that has been passed is heavy indeed. This command will have much to do with the preservation of our nation’s ability to preserve peace, assure our freedoms, and guarantee the sovereignty of the United States for future generations.”
With a first command salute, Raymond’s words were felt deep through the ranks: “Let’s get to work.”