DECEMBER 31, 2019 – By order of Secretary of the Air Force Barbara M. Barrett, effective Dec. 20, Fourteenth Air Force was officially redesignated as Space Operations Command.
Air Force military and civilian personnel previously assigned to the Fourteenth Air Force are now assigned to SPOC by virtue of the redesignation action.
The SPOC directly supports the U.S. Space Force’s mission to protect the interests of the United States in space; deter aggression in, from and to space; and conduct space operations.
On Dec. 20, President Donald Trump signed the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, officially establishing the USSF as the sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces.
In accordance with a redesignation memorandum for record signed by Barrett, Maj. Gen. John E. Shaw, former Fourteenth Air Force commander, was redesignated as commander of Space Operations Command; in addition to Shaw’s role as U.S. Space Command’s Combined Force Space Component commander.
The SPOC provides space capabilities such as space domain awareness, space electronic warfare, satellite communications, missile warning, nuclear detonation detection, environmental monitoring, military intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, navigation warfare, command and control, and positioning, navigation and timing, on behalf of the USSF for USSPACECOM and other combatant commands.
“It is an honor and privilege to lead the U.S. Space Force’s Space Operations Command. Every day, all around the planet, people count on us to make a difference – to provide a space-enabled combat edge to the warfighters that keep our country, our allies, and our partners safe,” Shaw said. “We will not let them down.”
Additional details about SPOC will be available in early 2020 – highlighting Space Operations Command’s critical roles and responsibilities in support of national security objectives.
By Maj. Cody Chiles, Space Operations Command Public Affairs