The U.S. Space Force has selected 2,410 Airmen out of more than 8,500 Active-duty volunteers to transfer to the new service beginning Sept. 1, the service announced July 16.
The accepted volunteers are all in the space operations (13S) and space system operations (1C6) Air Force Specialty Codes, and include a mix of officer and enlisted personnel.
“This is an exciting and historic time for these space operators who will be some of the first members to join the Space Force,” Lt. Gen. David “DT” Thompson, U.S. Space Force vice commander, said in a release. “Each one of them has an important responsibility to contribute bold ideas to shape the Space Force into a 21st Century service.”
Selected members who are awaiting a pending promotion board will transfer after meeting with the board. Space operators who did not volunteer to transfer to the new service may apply to retrain into another career field, transition to the reserve component, or apply for separation or retirement if eligible, according to the release. When the transition period ends “sometime around 2022,” organic space specialties will fall under the Space Force and will no longer be available to members of the U.S. Air Force.
The other roughly 6,000 Airmen who volunteered to transfer come from career fields that are common to both the Air Force and Space Force, including:
- Intelligence (14N)
- Cyberspace operations (17X)
- Developmental engineer (62E)
- Acquisition manager (63A)
- Operations Intelligence (1N0)
- Geospatial Intelligence (1N1)
- Signals Intelligence (1N2)
- Fusion Analyst (1N4)
- Targeting Analyst (1N8)
- Cyberspace Support (3D0)
- Client Systems (3D1)
These Airmen will participate in a further transfer selection process “that will balance space experience, space credentials, and performance and potential as evaluated during a transfer board,” according to the release.
Officer transfer boards are scheduled for the end of July, while enlisted transfers will be considered “later in the fall,” according to the release. Results will be announced 30 days after the boards are completed, and the transfer of personnel will begin on Feb. 1, 2021.
“There has been substantial planning behind the scenes between the Space Force and Air Force personnelists to get us to this day,” Patricia Mulcahy, deputy chief of space operations for personnel and logistics, said in the release. “We understand the personal circumstances that influence a member’s decision to volunteer for transfer, and I am incredibly proud of the team’s thoughtfulness put into every decision to ensure we provide members with as seamless a transfer process as possible.”
The service is first focusing on transitioning USAF members to the new service, but it expects to begin transferring members of the Army and Navy in fiscal 2022-2023.
“Air Guard and Air Force Reserve units executing space missions are currently aligned to the Space Force, and will continue supporting Space Force missions in this status while the future of the reserve component for the Space Force is determined,” the release states. “The status of Department of the Air Force civilians, whether assigned to the Air Force or Space Force organizations, is unchanged.”