Remarks by CSO Gen. Chance Saltzman at first the Officer Training Course graduation

Good morning!

[Crowd responds: Good morning, Sir!]

This is such an honor. This is momentous.

Whatever he said. [audience laughs]

Thanks, General Smith, Colonel Saint Romaine – Colonel Saint Romaine. Quick – Chris and I go back a way, so it’s kinda fun to say Colonel Saint Romaine. Fifteen years ago, she was not Colonel Saint Romaine; so, I’m thinking about the future but I’m thinking about turning to the past. Fifteen years goes quick, I promise.

Colonel Conley, thanks for the invitation. This is just an honor to be here. This was a good idea about 15 months ago – well, 25 months ago – and you spent the last 12 months turning a good idea into what looks like a great idea so I can’t thank you enough.

To all the generals, chiefs, commanders, community leaders, especially the family members … thanks for being here to honor these graduates.

Thanks for the leadership team here at Peterson – it’s not easy to host one of these events. The more people that show up on planes on your tarmac, the harder it gets, I know that. So, thanks for providing such a wonderful home to these officers and their families over the last year.

Now, we’re here to talk about OTC Cohort 24-1 and I’ve heard that you organized yourselves in crews, so let me hear it Alpha Crew. [silence than laughter]

As I was watching a couple speeches beforehand, I saw the appropriate level of excitement, eye rolling, boredom – so I think you’re right about where you need to be ready to go out to the panel.

Alpha-nauts? How do you say it? Somebody say it. Was I close enough? They’re like, “Sir, you can say anything you want.” Make it so – is that what the patch translates to around here?

What’s it really say?

[groan from crowd, laughter, individual in crowd “fake it 'til you make it, Sir”]

I like that even better. Fake it 'til you make it? That’s my motto.

Alright, Bravo crew.

[audience responds]
It’s always better to be second. Berserkers? Interesting. Alright, half Viking, half astronaut. That sounds like a pretty good warrior ethos to me! So, uh, Viking axes: not approved as a maintenance or motivational tool in the field, ok? Alright.

And Charlie Crew.

[audience responds]

Chameleons, the ability to adapt to any environment. That sounds tongue-in-cheek like there was some eye rolling going on there too, but we do like adaptability in the Space Force, but don't think, like as a chameleon, you can kind of just fade into the background. We trained you guys to be leaders. That means out front, that means visible. So, this chameleon thing is going to have to just be about adaptability and not invisibility, okay?

All right, mascots aside, congratulations to all of you for being the first graduates of the United States Space Force Officer Training Course.

Being the first to do anything is not easy. The challenges of going first are numerous … rushing to a solution can sub-optimize. It can create inefficiencies. There are no lessons learned from previous iterations. Costs, frustrations can rise quickly.

But great things require great daring … being courageous and bold enough to seize the initiative. You have demonstrated that courage and the character to go first, to set the stage. You were able to learn those lessons – those first lessons – build the foundations for others to follow. There will be many other graduates of the Space Force Officer Training Course … but none that will have the privilege and the distinction of saying they were the first graduating class. So, congratulations and thank you.

I know. None of you volunteered for this, right? Someone told you you were gonna do it and you said, “sure, no problem.”

But to paraphrase Julius Caesar, you came, you saw, you conquered.

You may be the first Space Force officers to go through the training, but you are not the first officers to have to master emerging tactics and deal with the uncertainties of our new domain.

So, if you’ll indulge an old guy for a little bit, I can tell you a “there I was” story – and I know you’ll indulge me because I’m what’s standing between you and your graduation certificates, so thank you.

In the summer of 2006, the North Koreans were preparing to launch the Taepodong-2 for the first time. This is a multi-stage missile which means it could be theoretically used put a satellite in orbit or be used as an intercontinental ballistic missile.

I was serving as the Chief of Combat Operations in what is now the Combined Space Operations Center at Vandenberg and we were informed that the U.S. would have the authority to shoot down an ICBM launched from North Korea but we would not be authorized to shoot down a rocket putting a satellite into orbit. So, the problem was that the shoot down window was very early in the flight so the task was given to the CSpOC to determine if the launch was a space lift or ICBM early enough to inform the shooters. So, using infrared collects from space, we would need to differentiate from orbital and suborbital profiles without ever having seen this rocket launch before.

Tough task. But a few intel officers, a few space operators got together. They poured over a ton of data from nearly every previous launch of ICBMs and space lift capabilities in the class.

They consulted some SMEs, some orbital dynamic pros, and they came up with a formula that involved Main Engine Cutoff times, second staging acceleration data that they believed would identify if the launch was an ICBM. It wasn’t perfect but this had never been done before … but the mission was assigned, so we needed to be bold. We briefed the plan to the U.S. STRATCOM Commander, he asked some tough questions and then he approved.

On July 5th, 2006, the Taepodong-2 launched in what is now considered an epic and anti-climactic fashion – it blew up 30 seconds into launch. But, of note, six years later, basically the same rocket did put a satellite on orbit and the data revealed that our “formula” would have prevented us from shooting down the satellite launch.

So, you will face similar challenges. You will face challenges in employing space tactics and systems against thinking adversaries with advanced technologies and some of those challenges we haven’t even imagined yet. The contested space domain, counterspace technologies and space war itself are still unfolding, maturing, dynamically shifting. You will be the ones who answer the call, you must be creative problem solvers, you must build expertise so you will have the courage and conviction to be bold. Every domain and every Service recalls its innovators, its thought leaders, its problem solvers. The Space Force story is still unfolding … the domain is still developing. You are on the ground floor … you must be the leaders that put us on the path to success.

We’ve invested in you in this last year; in a comprehensive understanding of the basics you will need … a foundation for you to build on. There’s no way we covered everything … there will be uncertainty in your future. You must be creative, constructive, and not fazed by the risks you face. And I implore you to take calculated risks, challenge the status quo with new ideas, and then take the initiative to implement them. That’s the attitude that will prevail in this newly contested domain of ours.

We've come a long way since the CSpOC in 2006. The training you’ve just completed makes the training I received look like kindergarten. Your commanders – and I – expect you to be focused on mission success and evolve faster than our adversaries. And your troops will demand you be measured, decisive, and experts in your craft. Believe me, you have a lot of hard work ahead of you.

But that’s why we’ve asked you to invest your time and effort into OTC program. Although no training can fully prepare us for war, you have been trained unlike any other Guardian. OTC has given you a broad foundation across all Space Force’s operational specialties.

This is a brand-new approach for us. It’s an important pivot from the old days. The approach is based on the notion that to lead in the Service, in the Service of the contested space domain, officers must fundamentally understand space, cyber and intelligence operations.

If you’re going to focus on cyber defense, you will better understand the threat and be able to ask the tough questions of your intel counterparts because you are trained in intelligence. You will know the criticality of ground systems to the space operations they support because you are a trained space operator. If you track into the intelligence specialties, you will provide better analysis and in a language that the space and cyber operators understand … because you understand their perspective in detail. And if you are in a space operations position, you should be able to ask better RFIs of your intel teammates and understand cyber vulnerabilities to your mission system … because you are trained in their business. In a force that relies on the deep integration across all of our disciplines to leverage the full spectrum of our capabilities through all domains, we can no longer afford to stove-pipe our leaders from day one. We are all Guardians first … all warfighters in the space domain. The skills and perspectives that you gain in your first operational assignment will give you the experience and credibility to engage with capable adversaries and lead the fight wherever the rest of your career takes you.

And while you may specialize in certain disciplines at times, you cannot lose sight of your primary roles. Officers are the Space Force’s commanders, leaders, planners, and strategists. I need you to be the big-picture, multi-disciplinary thinkers. Your job is to lead the units that will out-wit and out-maneuver our thinking adversaries.

So, as you reflect on your OTC experience, remember that you weren’t just here to study. As the plank-holders of OTC, you were also vital to our culture of constant improvement. And just like so many other growth areas of our service, we must continue to iterate as we learn.

But the builders we need to establish the Space Force our country demands are you. We have to be those innovators.

So, thank you for having the commitment and the character to navigate our first iteration of the Officer Training Course. And believe me when I say, there will be many more firsts for your future as leaders of the young Space Force.

And while all of you are celebrating your achievements as a class, I also want to acknowledge the dedication and hard work of the instructors. They built – as Jim said – they built and executed this course in an incredibly short timeline with very limited resources. So, thank you to all the instructors, all the support staff, all the leadership for being the enabling force behind our officer development. You are building our nation's next generation of space warfighters. I'm deeply grateful for your committed efforts.

And finally, to OTC 24-1. You will soon be on the invisible front lines of the space domain in combat units, cyber, intel squadrons, launch squadrons, detailed to the National Reconnaissance Office: units charged with generating, sourcing, and providing combat credible space-enabled solutions to tough joint force problems. You are joining these units with a unique perspective. You will be the very first OTC graduates they have met, and their mission will be brand new to you. I urge you to use that clean slate to your advantage.
Be curious in everything you do. Have the courage to ask hard questions of your peers and your leadership. And then be a part of the solution…we need problem solvers not just problem identifiers.

So, look for the toughest problems in your units, and lead your team to creative solutions.

And as you focus on becoming experts in your mission, do not forget – our adversaries are doing the same thing. They are watching to see what our strengths are and where they might be able to exploit us. They are sharpening their tactics daily to try to get the upper hand and I'm not worried.

I'm confident you have what it takes to lead, plan and command on day one in your units. I'm immensely proud of each one of you for what you've accomplished so far. You've proven that you are up to the challenge, and I know you have the watch.

Approach every day in your next assignment – and the rest of your career – knowing that the stakes could not be higher. Our success, or our failure, is in your hands.

It’s up to each one of you to employ your skills to secure our nation’s interests in, from, and to space.

Our nation demands your leadership, and our way of life depends on your combat effectiveness.

Congratulations, OTC 24-1! Now, it’s time to get to work.

Semper Supra!