Gen. John ”Jay” Raymond, chief of space operations for the United States Space Force (USSF), visited Westfields on Monday, March 22. He met with leadership and participated in a town hall meeting to engage with the workforce.
Director Scolese introduced Gen. Raymond and began the conversation by highlighting the fact that the Space Force is the largest component of the NRO on the military side. “To say that the transition (from Air Force to Space Force) was seamless would be an understatement,” Scolese said. “This success is the result of Gen. Raymond’s leadership.”
Gen. Raymond discussed the importance of the relationship between the NRO and the Space Force and emphasized that our relationship continues to get stronger.
He went on to talk about the importance of the space domain with our guardians and space professionals. “The ability to access space and maneuver in space are both vital to our national interests,” said Raymond. “Space is a contested domain with many threats … the environment we operate in today is not the same (uncontested) environment that many of us grew up with.”
Gen. Raymond also discussed the creation of the Space Force in December 2019, its current structure, and how this is a unique opportunity to create a service from scratch that’s “purpose-built for the space domain.”