Forged on the West Coast: SLD 30 Guardians, Airmen take home third place at 2025 Guardian Arena competition

From left to right 1st Lt. Catherine Schlabach, 2nd Space Launch Squadron responsible engineer, Space Launch Delta 30 team “Houston, We Have Two Kevin's (and Clay)”, U.S. Air Force Col. Lawrence Smith, SLD 30 deputy commander, U.S. Space Force Col. James Horne III, SLD 30 commander, U.S. Space Force Chief Master Sgt. Shannan Sanchez, SLD 30 senior enlisted leader, U.S. Space Force Col. Dorian Hatcher, SLD 30 deputy commander, SLD 30 team “Sidetrack’d”, and Senior Airman Javier Davila, 30th Operations Support Squadron airfield operations management coordinator, pose for a photo during Guardian Arena 2025 at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, Dec. 9, 2025. The two-day event brought together 35 teams from across the U.S. Space Force and its mission partners to test readiness, teamwork, and the competitive spirit in physical, mental, and tactical challenges designed to test the abilities of Guardians. Guardian Arena highlights how Guardians prepare to contest and control the space domain as adversaries increasingly seek to challenge U.S. spacepower. (U.S. Space Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joshua LeRoi)