MARCH 20, 2024 – The Space Force hosted its second annual Guardian Field Forum at the Gen. Jacob E. Smart Conference Center at Joint Base Andrews, March 11-15.
The week-long professional development event brought together 40 competitively-selected enlisted, officer and civilian Guardians to present feedback, recommendations, and innovative ideas directly to their peers and senior leaders.
“This forum bridges the gap between headquarters and the field on issues leadership might be missing,” said Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman. “Getting this feedback is critical to the success of the senior staff.”
At this forum, Guardians, nominated by their respective Deltas, presented their most important issues or recommendations to the other Deltas. The group then voted to determine the top themes that had the most overlap across the 22 initiatives that were presented. The teams selected three initiatives: strategic communication and collaboration, emerging technology for Guardians, and readiness improvements.
Some of the topics discussed included:
- A consolidated and streamlined communication platform for Guardians to access all pertinent information at a single source.
- A proposal for a combined civilian, government and military cloud-based satellite marketplace.
- Improved infrastructure development policies to support the rapid acquisition process.
The Guardians spent the week collaborating and discussing amongst themselves and with industry partners to consolidate their ideas into three initiatives that were presented to leaders during the Space Force Senior Leader Summit.
“I challenge you to think outside the box, challenge assumptions and the status quo,” said Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force John F. Bentivegna. “Go back to your units, share your experience with Guardians and always know we hear you and your voice matters.”
Throughout the forum, Maj. Gen. Steve Whitney, Space Force director of staff and senior Guardian mentor, spent time with the Guardians, providing mentorship and emphasizing the need for forums like this.
“Be aggressive, get after it,” Whitney said. “We don’t have the time, we don’t have the people, to play it safe.”
Closing out the forum, Saltzman reiterated the importance of Guardians sharing their ideas and developing solutions to issues together.
“This is a chance to get feedback we need to address the issues that are of most concern across the force,” Saltzman said.
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs