PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. –
U.S. Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sgt. Scott H. Stalker is set to assume responsibility of U.S. Space Command from U.S. Space Force Chief Master Sgt. Roger A. Towberman during an Aug. 28 ceremony.
The Department of Defense’s 11th combatant command is getting a new command senior enlisted leader eight days after U.S. Army Gen. James H. Dickinson assumed command from USSF Gen. John W. Raymond.
Stalker, a native of Lebanon, New Hampshire, previously served as the CSEL for U.S. Cyber Command and National Security Agency.
Stalker’s joint operational deployments include tours with the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division and 101st Airborne Division; the U.S. Navy’s USS Guam LPH-9, USS Nassau LHA-4, USS Nashville LPD-13 and USS Blue Ridge LCC-19; and the U.S. Air Force’s 31st Operations Support Squadron.
His deployments with the Corps include tours with HMM-365, Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 332, 26 MEU (SOC); 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, RCT-7, 1st Marine Division; 2nd Marine Division; and 3rd Marine Division. Additionally, he deployed multiple times to Southeast Asia while assigned to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command.
His combat and contingency deployments include Operation Restore Hope in Somalia; Deny Flight and Provide Promise in Bosnia-Herzegovina; Silver Wake, conducting a Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation in Albania; Guardian Retrieval in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; a Unit Deployment Program, Okinawa, Japan; and Operation Iraqi Freedom I, II, V, VII and VIII.
Towberman assumed responsibility as USSPACECOM’s CSEL upon its official establishment Aug. 29, 2019, during a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden with President Donald Trump, Dr. Mark T. Esper, Secretary of Defense, and Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, former USSPACECOM commander and current U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations.
Upon the creation of the USSF in April 2020, Raymond and Towberman were dual-hatted, serving as the command team for the Department of Defense’s newest service and combatant command. Both continue to serve in their USSF roles upon departing USSPACECOM.
USSPACECOM is one of 11 unified combatant commands under the DoD, USSPACECOM conducts operations in, from and to space to deter conflict, and if necessary, defeat aggression, deliver space combat power for the Joint/Combined force and defend U.S. vital interests with allies and partners.
Due to health protection conditions at Peterson Air Force Base, only invited guests may attend the change of responsibility, but those interested are invited to enjoy the live feed starting at 2 p.m. MDT at https://www.facebook.com/USSpaceCom.