United States Space Force (USSF) Warrior Culture

Prepared by the Flatter, Inc. Thought Leadership Team:

• General Robert Kehler, USAF (Ret.)
• Admiral Cecil Haney, USN (Ret.)
• General Frank Gorenc, USAF (Ret.)
• General Lori Robinson, USAF (Ret.)
• Admiral Michael Rogers, USN (Ret.)
• General Joseph Votel, USA (Ret.)
• General Robert Neller, USMC (Ret.)
• Admiral Kurt Tidd, USN (Ret.)
• Lieutenant General Susan Helms, USAF (Ret.)
• Major General James (Rev) Jones, USAF (Ret.)
• The Honorable George Foresman, DHS (Ret.)
• Dr. J.R. Flatter, Ph.D., USMC (Ret.)
• Dr. David Corderman, Ph.D., FBI (Ret.)

Item

There is a critical need for the United States Space Force (USSF) to create an environment where a Warrior Culture can be developed, driven and achieved.

Discussion

The building of a Warrior Culture is an essential element to the success of any professional uniformed service. As the sixth U.S. uniformed Service, the USSF requires a Warrior Culture customized to its unique missions and operating environment. To create this distinctive Warrior Culture, each USSF member must:

• Identify implicitly and explicitly as a Space warfighter
• Trace their actions to the success of the USSF
• Prepare for in-extremis scenarios

Where applicable, this Warrior Culture should be developed from the Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Experiences (KSA&E) of the other five uniformed services and functional communities as well as other successful warrior cultures external to the U.S. Department of War. Education, training, and experiences; tactics; techniques; and procedures should be drawn from existing Services based on insights of their purpose and effects. This process will assist the USSF in defining its own Warrior Culture and provide understanding of its role in the Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2).

Because USSF origins are primarily in the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), artifacts from AFSPC should be preserved and included in the culture of the Space Force. Initially, USSF recruits should attend USAF basic training but be immediately sent to USSF “Space” training for further instruction. During additional training, there MUST be one or more defining events which, when completed, initiate each recruit as a distinct member of the USSF.

A separate entry level training should be created incorporating a defining event that tests the traits and attributes expected in a space warfighter including intelligence, network savvy, technical aptitude, physical resilience/endurance, and moral/spiritual ethics. Graduates should receive a “warfare pin” designating their accomplishment and initiation into the community.

The USSF culture must not only embrace the creation of deep expertise within the space mission set but must also create, value, and reward knowledge and experience among its members in how the other services and disparate COCOMs operate and bring to the warfighting table. USSF must understand how its fellow COCOMs and Services operate so it can then apply USSF expertise and capabilities in the most effective way - thus ensuring the highest probability of mission success.

Future USSF leaders should almost exclusively grow up through the ranks. As the USSF transition progresses, “in house” training should be done entirely by USSF service members. It is important for the USSF to immediately begin assembling the senior non-commissioned (NCO) leaders to take on this essential task. It is the NCOs that will define, protect and sustain the warrior ethos and character of the USSF. The following developmental conditions for members must apply:

• A continuous unique formal socialization process that emphasizes the USSF Warrior Culture through training at all levels
• Demand of great trust, morality and responsibility from its leaders
• Continuous purposive and rank appropriate preparation for in-extremis scenarios

Areas distinctive to developing the Space Warrior Culture include wargaming, warfighting concept development, test and evaluation, and operational intelligence. These advanced domains must be taught and exercised emphasizing the cultural uniqueness of the space warfighter. Areas where the USSF Warrior Culture ethos should also be embedded include but are not limited to:

• STEM Participation
• Reserve Officer Training Corps
• Recruiting
• Recruit Training
• Officer Candidate School
• Core Values
• Cultural “Artifacts”
• Non-Commissioned Officer Academies
• Staff Non-Commissioned Officer Academies
• Command & Staff Colleges
• War Colleges
• Strategic Communication
• Labor Market Economics

As provided, the USSF should immediately exert its independence by renaming key Air Force installations to Space Force installations and underscore the Space Force mission to the nation. This communication should be designed to capture the imagination of the American people and enhance recruiting efforts.

A USSF designated unit structure must be created emphasizing mission criticality. The names for USSF operational commands should reflect the esprit de corps of the Service. Borrowing from other branches of the military is appropriate, but there should be specific unit command names that capture the essence of the USSF, which members can and will identify with (e.g., Astronautics Regiment).

Careful thought must be given to the USSF dress and daily uniform; symbols of the Service including patches and awards; and the name for its members, which must be unique and reflect the character of the USSF war fighter (e.g., sentinel).

As the transition occurs, members of other services who want to transfer to this new entity should be required to read selected foundational documents, be educated thoroughly on the USSF mission, and understand that upon entry their commitment to the Service during their enlistment is permanent and irrevocable. Their loyalty must be “pledged” upon transfer.

A USSF Warrior Transition School should be established with mandatory attendance for all transferees. Its focus should be on the characteristics of a USSF warfighter rooted in the exceptional history and achievements of the collective U.S. Space Program. Finally, those who are in a direct USSF support role must be trained to share the USSF Warrior Culture ethos.

Recommended Actions

USSF partner with Flatter, Inc. to first create and then execute a Service specific Warrior Culture roadmap. This partnership should produce a definition and deliver an understanding of the warrior ethos of the other Services and SOCOM. As part of the roadmap there should be a DOTMLPF analysis regarding viability and cost of a separate USSF professional military recruiting and education system or an alternative Space Force recruitment and initiation pathway.