Saltzman underwent undergraduate missile training at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in 1992, less than a year after commissioning into the Air Force. In 1997, he earned the Air Assault Badge from attending the United States Army Air Assault School. He is also a space weapons officer, graduating from the USAF Weapons School in 2001, where students are taught how to be weapons instructors in their units.[7] During his promotion to lieutenant general in 2020, General John W. Raymond pointed to Saltzman's entrance to the weapons school as one of his defining qualities. "[If] you think about Salty, that's what I think of: as an instructor," said Raymond. "Just last week, we went out to Vandenberg... Two young captains briefed me on what they were doing, and then I continued the tour. And for about another 20 or 30 minutes, I was looking and I said, 'Where'd General Saltzman go?' Well, he was sitting down with those two captains teaching, and sitting down having a conversation, and helping them think through what they had just briefed, and helping them understand the importance of the work they were doing."[8]
In 1996, Saltzman was selected for the Air Force Intern Program where he was assigned to the Air Force Office of the Director of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance and the Air Staff History Office. While on the Air Staff, he worked planning, programming and budgeting issues for the Information Warfare Panel; wrote higher headquarters inspection classification guidance for information operations; and provided historical research for the chief of staff. In 1998, he was assigned to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Operating Division Four (OD-4). In OD-4, he served as flight commander, senior flight commander and mission planning flight commander responsible for planning and command and control of three NRO reconnaissance satellite constellations. He also served as the on-console launch officer and led early-orbit engineering checkout for a $1 billion NRO satellite.[9]
In 2000, Saltzman was selected to attend the USAF Weapons School. After graduating from the Weapons School in 2001, he was selected to remain at the Weapons School as an instructor. While there, he served as academics flight commander and an assistant director of operations.[9]
On January 11, 2007, then-Lieutenant Colonel Saltzman was serving under Colonel Stephen N. Whiting, then the director of the Joint Space Operations Center, and with Major DeAnna Burt, who succeeded Saltzman as chief of combat plans, when the 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test occurred. Recalling what he believes is the key date of modern military space operations history, Whiting noted, "We watched that test unfold over time, and we led the response for U.S. STRATCOM. We spent weeks and weeks figuring out how we would notify national leadership in real time. And those of us who was there knew the world had changed, on that day."[10]
In June 2014, Saltzman transferred to the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, as the deputy director of plans and programs. After less than a year in that stint, he was chosen as the executive officer to General John E. Hyten, then AFSPC commander. It was during this time when he was nominated for promotion to general officer in March 2016 and confirmed by the Senate a month later.[11] On July 3, 2016, he was promoted to brigadier general.[7]
Multi-Domain Command and Control
Saltzman, who led the Air Force's Multi-Domain Command and Control (MDC2), explains the concept to airmen at the Space and Missile Systems Center (2017).
In September 2016, General David L. Goldfein outlined his three priorities as chief of staff of the United States Air Force. Among them was advancing multi-domain, multi-functional command and control. Saltzman, who was then director of future operations at the Air Force headquarters, was handpicked by Goldfein to lead the multi-domain command and control (MDC2) effort.[12][13] He served as director of Air Force Strategic Integration Group, running the service’s yearlong study of MDC2.[14][15] For his work on MDC2, he has been called as the "father of multi-domain operations", which is now known in the United States Department of Defense as Joint All-Domain Command and Control.[16]
After his stint at the Pentagon, Saltzman was chosen by Lieutenant General Joseph T. Guastella, commander of the U.S. Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT), as his deputy commander. He is the first AFCENT deputy commander to have come from a non-flying background.[17][18]
Transfer to the Space Force
The United States Space Force was established while Saltzman was at AFCENT as deputy commander. By July 2020, after his tour in Southwest Asia, he went back to the Pentagon to serve as acting director of staff of the United States Space Force, a post held by retiring Major General Clinton Crosier.[19] He held this position until he was among the four Air Force major generals selected for promotion to lieutenant general and transfer to the Space Force.[20][21][22]
Saltzman transferred into the Space Force and was promoted to lieutenant general during a ceremony on August 14, 2020, making him the first lieutenant general of the Space Force and the first general officer promoted into the new service. During the ceremony, General John W. Raymond remarked:
"I think it's very appropriate that the first general who comes in is a warfighter. I think that sends a really strong message that this is an armed service, and we are about deterring conflict that could begin or extend into space. We couldn’t ask for a better person."
Saltzman renders a salute during his transition ceremony after he relieved Raymond as the second CSO, 2022
On July 27, 2022, U.S. PresidentJoe Biden nominated Saltzman for promotion to general and appointment as the second chief of space operations (CSO) of the Space Force.[27][28] One of four lieutenant generals considered, Saltzman was a dark horse candidate for the job.[16] The outgoing CSO, General Raymond, with whom he has close personal ties dating back years, strongly supported his selection.[29] Saltzman testified before a United States Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on September 13, 2022.[30][31] In his opening statement, he mentioned three broad fronts he would focus on as CSO: maturing as an independent service, leveraging partnerships, and innovating to accomplish missions.[32] His nomination was confirmed by voice vote of the Senate on September 29, 2022.[28]
On November 2, 2022, Saltzman assumed office as the second chief of space operations during the Space Force's first change of responsibility ceremony. He pledged to build on the Space Force's achievements while also infusing the service with new approaches.[33]
As chief, Saltzman has sent out "C-notes" to guardians as a means of communicating with them, an adaptation of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt's "Z-grams".[34] In a series of three C-notes in January 2023, he released three lines of efforts that would guide his term as chief: (1) fielding combat-ready forces, (2) amplifying the guardian spirit, and (3) partnering to win.[35][36] In February 2023, he unveiled his "Theory of Success," intended to initiate a debate within the service.[37] Two weeks later, he unveiled the concept of Competitive Endurance as a theory of success for the Space Force, which has three core tenets: (1) avoiding operational surprise, (2) denying first-mover advantage, and (3) responsible counterspace campaigning.[38]
In another C-note, Saltzman criticized the existing mission statement of the Space Force, noting that it falls short of explaining the mission of the service. He used the memo to crowd-source ideas for revising the mission statement.[39]
Personal life
Saltzman married Jennifer (Petersen) Saltzman on September 12, 1992. They have two children, John and Sarah.[32]
The chief of staff of the Air Force is the service chief of the United States Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor to the secretary of the Air Force on matter pertaining to the Air Force; and is in a separate capacity, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and thereby a military adviser to the National Security Council, the secretary of defense, and the President. The chief of staff is typically the highest-ranking officer on active duty in the Air Force unless the chairman and/or the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are Air Force officers.
Charles Quinton Brown Jr. is a United States Air Force general who is serving as the 21st chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since October 1, 2023. He most recently served as the 22nd chief of staff of the Air Force from 2020 to 2023. Brown entered the Air Force in 1984. A fighter pilot, he has logged over 3,000 flight hours, including 130 hours in combat. He has commanded the Pacific Air Forces, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, 31st Fighter Wing, 8th Fighter Wing, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, and 78th Fighter Squadron. He has also served as deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command.
John William Raymond is a retired United States Space Force general who served as the first chief of space operations from 2019 to 2022. The first guardian, he served as commander of the United States Space Command from 2019 to 2020.
The chief of space operations (CSO) is the service chief of the United States Space Force. The CSO is the principal military adviser to the secretary of the Air Force for Space Force operations and, as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a military adviser to the National Security Council, the secretary of defense, and the president. The CSO is a statutory office held by a Space Force general, who is typically the highest-ranking officer on active duty in the Space Force.
David Dean Thompson is a retired United States Space Force general who served as the first vice chief of space operations from 2020 to 2023. He served as the vice commander of the Air Force Space Command from 2018 to 2020.
John Edwin Shaw is a retired United States Space Force lieutenant general who last served as the deputy commander of the United States Space Command from 2020 to 2023. He previously served as commander of the Combined Force Space Component Command and deputy commander of Space Operations Command.
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Stephen Newman Whiting is a United States Space Force lieutenant general who serves as the first and current commander of Space Operations Command. He previously served as the deputy commander of Air Force Space Command.
James H. Dickinson is a United States Army general who has commanded the United States Space Command since 2020.
DeAnna Marie Burt is a United States Space Force lieutenant general who has served as the deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear since 2022. She is the first female major general and second female general officer in the Space Force.
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James Earl Smith is a United States Space Force brigadier general who serves as the assistant deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear. He previously served as the deputy United States military representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He was previously the commander of the 50th Space Wing before it was inactivated and replaced by the Peterson-Schriever Garrison. He was also nominated for transfer to the U.S. Space Force and promotion to brigadier general.
The United States Space Force is organized by different units: the Space Staff, the field commands, and the space deltas.
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The director of staff of the United States Space Force (SF/DS) is a senior leadership position in the United States Space Force held by a major general. The director of staff reports to the chief of space operations (CSO) and has overall responsibility for providing executive staff to the CSO, vice chief of space operations, and chief master sergeant of the Space Force.
↑ "B. Chance Saltzman". Air Force Strategic Integration Group. August 2018. Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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