 United States Army, to General Stephen Whiting, United States United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Kathleen Hicks, I'm Colonel Dave Stanfield, and I will be your narrator for today's events. As a reminder, the ceremony is conducted as an indoor ceremony. During the playing of musical honors, military members in uniform will face the individual being honored and stand at attention. During the playing of the National Anthem, active duty military members and retirees will stand at attention, while civilian employees may place their hand over their heart. Please stand for the arrival of the official party, playing of musical honors, singing of the National Anthem, followed by the invocation. Would you pray with me please? Heavenly Father, we're thankful for this day and the many blessings, which are the evidence of your grace within our lives. As we witness this change of command, we're appreciative of leaders with high moral character who've answered their nation's call to serve. We've been the recipients of General Dickinson's vision and leadership, which has led to many successes, which are evident across our military and certainly within U.S. Space Command. We will miss both he and Miss Angie. We are forever grateful for their commitment to this country, the mission and their passion for both their families and our families. As General Whiting receives the guide on today, we ask that you bestow upon him wisdom, patience, guidance, and endurance as he assumes the commander of U.S. Space Force, U.S. Space Command. We ask for grace for his family during the exciting times ahead. Draw them closer to you and to one another. We thank you for our nation and the freedoms we enjoy. We lift to you the Marines, soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardians, Coast Guardsmen, civilians, contractors, allies, and partners who comprise the Joint Team of United States Space Command. And likewise, we remember our comrades in arms who were in harm's way this day. We are grateful that there is never a day without space available to them. In your holy name, we pray. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. Thank you to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, led by 1st Lieutenant, Liam Houston, for the salute battery. The United States Air Force Academy is stellar brass band for musical honors, Technical Sergeant Denver Murphy for the outstanding rendition of the National Anthem and Chaplain Mark Thomas for the inspiring words, as well as the U.S. Space Command Joint Color Guard. We are honored to have several distinguished and special guests with us today. Please hold your applause until each group has been recognized. We have General Dickinson's spouse, Angie, their daughter, Deborah, and her spouse, Matt, and their children, Junior, Colton, and Reagan, the Dickinson's son, Hank, and his spouse, Sarah, the Dickinson's daughter, Olivia, General Widing's spouse, Tammy, their son, Chase, and his spouse, Olivia, and the Widing's daughter, Allie. Additionally, please welcome the Secretary of the Air Force, the Honorable Frank Kendall, the Chief of Space Operations, General Chance Saltzman, and his spouse, Jennifer, the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, the Honorable Diane Primavera, General D.T. Thompson, United States Space Force, the Honorable Harry Harris, former Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, and the 24th Commander of the United States Pacific Command. General Ralph Eberhardt retired, United States Air Force, and his spouse, Karen. General William Shelton retired, United States Air Force, and his spouse, Linda. Ms. Natasha Hudson, Regional Director of Pikes Peak and Business Outreach Director, who is representing United States Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado. Mr. Antonio Huerta, Southern Colorado Regional Director, representing United States Senator John Hickenlooper of Colorado. Mr. Dennis Heisey, District Director, representing United States Representative Doug Lamborn of Colorado. El Paso County Commissioner, Stan Van Der Wharf, District 3. Colorado Springs Council President, Randy Helms, from District 2. Colorado Springs Council Member, Michelle Talerico, from District 3. Colorado Springs Council Member, Mike O'Malley, from District 6. Fountain Council Members, Dietra Duncan and Jennifer Herzberg, the Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force, Chief Master Sergeant John Bentavigna and his spouse, Kathy, and the Command Senior Enlisted Leader, United States Space Command, Chief Master Sergeant Jacob Simmons and his wife, Anna. We would also like to extend a warm welcome to all Directors, General and Flag Officers, Senior Executive Service Members, Commanders, Command Senior Enlisted Leaders, Joint Combined Allied and Interagency Partners, Community Leaders, Military and Civilian personnel and friends with us in attendance today and joining virtually. Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain seated as Admiral Christopher Grady awards the Joint Meritorious Unit Award for the United States Space Command. The award citation reads, under the provisions of Department of Defense Manual 1348.33 Volume 47, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has awarded the Joint Meritorious Unit Award for exceptionally meritorious service to United States Space Command during the period 29 August 2019 to 31 August 2022. Thank you, Admiral Grady. We will now commence with the Change of Command Ceremony for United States Space Command. This transfer symbolizes the continuity of command in the armed forces. Please remain seated during the Change of Command Ceremony. The flag is the physical manifestation of command and will be passed from General Dickinson to the Honorable Kathleen Hicks who will then pass it to General Whiting as a sign of the transfer of authority. Chief Master Sergeant Simmons, our Command Senior Enlisted Leader of the United States Space Command will stand as representation of transfer from the outgoing Commander to the Ingoing Commander. The flag has been entrusted to the Senior Enlisted Leader symbolically expressing the special trust and responsibility afforded to United States Space Command's enlisted members. By direction of the President of the United States, General James Dickinson will relinquish command of the United States Space Command affected 10 January 2024. General Stephen Whiting is directed to assume command of the United States Space Command affected 10 January 2024. It is now my great honor to introduce the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Christopher Grady. Please, and friends, and members of the Joint Force, a very good morning to you. In 1962, on a very muggy day in Houston, Texas, clearly not like the weather we have here, President John F. Kennedy delivered his famous address to our nation laying out mankind's incredible technological and scientific achievements along our pathway to the stars. President Kennedy described this and described space as one of our great adventures of all time. And he declared that this was our moment, as he said, our moment for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement which in many ways may hold the key to the future of the Earth. And so as we reflect on President Kennedy's visionary words and the great adventure that he pre-looted, let us look forward to the present where we continue to lead in space thanks to officers like General Jim Dickinson and General Stephen Whiting. Alongside the dedicated 18,000 members of Space Command, they exemplify our commitment to space excellence and leadership as we continue to pioneer new frontiers, strengthen our international partnerships and safeguard our nation's interests in the limitless expanse of space. Now before going any further, I would like to thank the state and local community leaders that are here today. It truly is a platinum partnership here in the Springs. You have provided unwavering support to our military members and our families and you continue to foster those lifelong connections no further than the two military families that we will honor here today. And I would also like to recognize our department and service leadership that's settled here past and present. Your leadership, your mentorship and your friendship continue to be critical to the success of our joint force. And finally, to the men and women of United States Space Command, thank you for manning the watch as we sit here today. This incredible team holds the ultimate high ground integrating our premier space capabilities into the joint forces global operations, deterring the aggressive behavior of our adversaries, defending our nation's most critical assets and when necessary, defeating looming threats. Certainly recent conflicts have starkly illustrated the indispensable role of space in our nation's defense capabilities. And in my view, space has emerged as our most essential warfighting domain, integral to our national security, our coalition interoperability, and our global stability. And it is through our mastery of this domain that we gain unparalleled clarity in visualizing the battlefield. A perspective that is so vital for informed decision making, for delivering precision effects and ultimately for the multi-domain awareness that we need to defend our nation. And at the heart of this integral mission are the dedicated professionals of SpaceComm who make a profound commitment to the defense of our nation, our citizens, and our way of life. Equally profound is the commitment of their families, and I'm sure that everyone here would agree that our families are such an important part of who we are. And today, we start by recognizing the two exemplary families whose honorable and selfless service, sacrifice, and support have been instrumental in the accomplishments that we are here to celebrate. So to the families, although you may not have volunteered to embark on this journey as your service member did, you have served alongside of him as he dedicated his life to make our nation and our world a safer place. As a matter of fact, and in the case of Team Dickinson, I am not sure that young Angie Cole ever imagined that this handsome young guy from sophomore English at a high school just up the road here at Estes Park would have gone from band hall to football field to becoming her husband and partner for life. From high school sweethearts to now having been married for 38 years through 28 PCSs and 3 countries, Angie has been by Jim's side every step of the way. And while Angie has been an accomplished interior designer and a business owner in her own right, it has been her advocacy and her devotion to our military families that will be one of the most important Dickinson family legacies to the joint force. Across Jim's entire career, from the battery all the way up to US Space Command, Angie has served in and led family readiness groups, Gold Star family events, and so much more. She even wrote two songs. The charm of the Army and rolling along with the Army with her sister Renee and two other military spouses as a way to celebrate the special qualities that make our families the very best in the world. And I know that she will be remembered very fondly around US Space Command for popcorn Fridays. Across the country and around the world, Angie has served our soldiers, our sailors, our airmen, our marines, our guardians, our coast guardsmen and their families and the total joint force with wisdom, kindness and a sense of adventure that is so essential to the nature of our military spouses, their families and all of our care networks. So Angie, your services, your sacrifice, your support do not go unnoticed. So together, Angie and Jim raised four smart, talented and successful kids. Their oldest, Deborah, is a first grade teacher and her husband Matt is an infantry officer headed off to battalion command. This summer, they have three beautiful children, Junior, Colton and Reagan. Next is their son, Hank, a custom-builder, home-builder in downtown San Antonio along with his wife, Sarah, who is a NICU year's and they've got three kiddos of their own, Peyton, Riley and Madison and Olivia, a proud Texas tech grad just like the chairman. So I think you did that on purpose, Jim. I'm not sure. She is a news director for Channel 7 in Denver. And then finally, the youngest Joe and his wife, Katie, I don't believe they were able to join us today, but what an army love story that is, they went to elementary high school together at Osan Air Base in Korea and as newlyweds, they were back in Korea where Joe is a warrant officer flying the mighty Black Hawk helicopter and for those of you who don't know it, Joe actually got to fly his Black Hawk in the flyover as part of Jim's retirement ceremony. How cool is that? Did you make it through? So to the Dickinson family, thank you for your love and for your support and your sacrifices so that your father could serve our great nation with such distinction. You know, I firmly believe that family readiness directly contributes to operational readiness that a stronger family means a stronger force. And so to the Dickinson's, you are the embodiment of that family and Christine and I, thank you for your service and on behalf of the entire joint force, thank you for your dedication and the many sacrifices you have made for the Army, for Spacecom and for our nation. Now we would also like to welcome another tremendous military family, the Whittings. And it comes as no surprise to me that two kids of two very successful retired Air Force officers might meet and marry right here in the Springs. Congratulations and welcome to Stephen's dad, Larry Whiting. He's celebrating us with us today and I think mom is out there in VTC land. I know how proud of Stephen both of you are, of Stephen that you are and I hope that you are enjoying your return to your old stomping grounds. And as for Tammy and Stephen, this will be untold at least the sixth time here in Colorado but certainly the sixth different house on Peterson. And along the way, Tammy has engaged in selfless work for our military families at each assignment as well as being an accomplished travel agent and agency owner and author. So together Tammy and Stephen, in addition to all of that, have raised two great children as well, both with us today Chase, a youth minister along with his wife Olivia and Allison a technical writer also living in Nashville. We're also able to celebrate today with a host of Stephen's family to include his brother Stuart and his wife Misty Whiting and his father-in-law. So with that, how about a round of applause for the Dickinson family the Whiting family and all of our military families. So Jim you have been an outstanding leader for the joint force at a pivotal time for our nation. You have served with courage and honor and conviction for nearly four decades in uniform. You've been selected to command our formations ten times. A true testament to your exceptional strategic vision, your unrelenting focus on mission execution and your profound expertise formed through years of experience and superb leadership. You have brought an air defenders disciplined approach to this facet of our military. You have uniquely understood the persistent proximate threats posed by our national adversaries that winning in space enables multi-domain operations and the essential role of battle space transparency that shapes every future fight. And Jim you will be forever recognized as the first Army air defense four star and the first Army general to command at U.S. Space Comm or as Jim refers to it Space Comm 2.0. Now the Army and the joint force haven't only benefited from having an air defender turned space professional at the helm we've also benefited from having a true warrior with an engineer's mind breaking apart some of our toughest problems, exploring them from every angle and advocating for solutions that are transforming the way our joint force does business. From hypersonic energy weapons to the importance of low earth satellites and space electronic warfare every one of these programs has Jim's fingerprints all over. And of course we all benefit from having served with Jim as a leader and as a mentor and as a colleague and as a friend. For me personally that started with Capstone where Jim immediately established himself as a huge pilot and just as importantly someone that you can trust and that someone you want to have a beer with that continued when we were both joint force commanders for STRADCOM when Jim spoke we all listened and there was no better partner to get things done within that most critical and crucial arena. So Jim from me personally thanks for your leadership but really thanks for your friendship. Jim and Angie will remain here in the springs where they plan to enjoy their down time, relax and maybe travel a bit and above all enjoy their dear family and friends. Again Jim on behalf of the more than 2 million men and women in uniform and their families we say thank you. We recognize the impressive skills of a space warrior and a technical innovator the leadership that you have practiced among your soldiers, your service members and your teammates and the character that has been instilled in you from your family. These are the lasting traits that will remain as you close this chapter on your military service. And so as you embark on your next adventure and as I understand from Angie there will be at least two horses and a white cowboy hat I'm not certain who's wearing the hat I'd pay money to see you wearing the hat but at least one white cowboy hat so that you can ride off into the sunset I hope you do so content in the fact that you have made this great nation safer and more secure we are so proud of everything that you have accomplished you are a leader in the Joint Force, a brilliant mind and an officer of true character and integrity. Christine and I congratulate you and Angie and the entire Dickinson crew and we wish you fair winds and following seas. Now today we will also recognize the Space Force's newest four star maybe the most junior four star in the entire Joint Force having been promoted today I think and who has just worn in as the next US base com commander Steven is one of three of his classmates Air Force Academy having pinned on a fourth star now I know all of those officers but I am told through very trusted sources that you creamed them in the class rankings I'm going to tell them you said that so you can deal with that later as you go forward I don't doubt it though so with Steven there was no one more qualified to lead space operations at this pivotal time in our nation's history he has served his entire career as a space operations officer at the tactical operational and strategic level and he is known as a dedicated level headed and experienced space warfighter to Steven and to Tammy and the whole whiting family welcome back to Colorado and welcome to this next incredible adventure and truly Steven your assignment to this command comes at such an important time for our Joint Force and our nation in this complex global environment the United States continues to lead across all domains and in upholding the rules based international order and leading in space is paramount to ensuring that the Joint Force remains the most capable and most lethal military in the world and as I've said that starts in space Steven I am confident that you will build on Jim's impressive momentum and carry us forward to new heights so as we underscore the significance of maintaining our leadership in space I'm honored to introduce another tremendous leader within our department Deputy Secretary of Defense the Honorable Kathleen Hicks thank you very much sorry they just have to remove a platform for the Vice Chairman it's a little shorter than me so first off thank you to Admiral Brady, General Dickinson General Whiting Lieutenant Governor Primavera, Secretary Kendall General Salzman all the distinguished guests, family and friends of SpaceCom and finally to all the people of the United States Space Command thank you all for joining us many years ago we were told January Day much like this an Army officer led a team of engineers to make space history you see for centuries humanity had looked to the wonders beyond our terrestrial home and only looked even as we invented rockets and radios and airplanes we had yet to send a signal into outer space and be certain of its return but the Army's project Diana led by Colonel John DeWitt sought to prove otherwise to test whether radio waves could penetrate the horizontal the ionized layers of our atmosphere reflect off something in space and be received back on the ground there were no artificial satellites so they targeted the closest celestial body they could the moon it was a bold experiment Project Diana required building an antenna even wider than a three-lane highway mounting it on a tower 100 feet tall and using it to send radar pulses a total distance of over 470,000 miles from the earth to the moon and back when they did it only took two and a half seconds for the radio waves to make the journey but in those two and a half seconds the future trajectory of humanity shifted our discovery paved the way for space-based communications reconnaissance, missile defense navigation and exploration from the moon to Mars and beyond that happened 78 years ago this morning so today we honor the space achievements of another Army officer and we ponder the future trajectory of his successor and we want to be inspired by the lessons of Project Diana how our actions today can change the course of history in ways we barely know and yield to tomorrow full of possibilities we can hardly imagine now as you all know space comm is DOD's newest combatant command and thanks to the hard work of its professionals, guardians, soldiers, sailors airmen, marines, civilians and others in four short years has made tremendous strides so let's pause for a moment and give that whole workforce a huge round of applause every day space comm delivers tremendous value across our joint force with satellite communications early warning radars GPS that enable not only navigation for people planes, trucks and ships but also the precision guided munitions that have become a hallmark of how the U.S. military fights in the modern era and those are only a few examples of what you operate all of it matters because more than ever before space is integral to military operations and our competitors know it they realize how much the American way of life and the American ways of war depend on space power to undermine our advantage here they know it supports our strengths in every other domain from land to sea to air to cyberspace that's partly why our pacing challenge the people's republic of China is rapidly expanding its space and counter space capabilities and integrating them into a broader strategy to challenge our joint force and undermine U.S. interests it's why Russia has used counter space to bolster its attempts to thwart U.S. interests and those of our allies and partners both Russia and the PRC are evolving their military doctrines to extend into space they're both deploying capabilities that can target GPS and other vital space based systems and we've seen both countries conduct operations against us and our allies and partners to degrade our space advantages our competitors aggressive actions seek to turn space into a war fighting domain but I want to be clear conflict is not inevitable in space or anywhere else and the United States of America is committed to preventing conflict through deterrence by making clear to our competitors that the costs of aggression would far outweigh any conceivable benefits everyone at this command is part of how we do that because while our competitors and adversaries see how much we rely on space they also see you they see the capabilities you operate most of them anyway they see the vigilance you exercise 24-7 they see the expert skill and professionalism you bring to bear they see the norms of responsible behavior that you've helped develop, promote and practice supporting the safety, stability security and sustainability of our space domain and they see how you innovate to keep pace with rapid technological change our embrace of resilience space architectures is a vital example of that for a long time our space constellations by the handful satellites the size of school buses that took decades to buy and build years to launch that was still the norm in the days of the old space com but now we're also leveraging proliferated constellations of smaller resilient lower cost satellites some launch almost weekly deploying dozens of payloads each time America's dynamic commercial space industry enables it and it's also enabled the United States to significantly outpace the PRC's growth in space launches and payloads over the last five years from 2019 to 2023 China doubled its annual space launches and more than tripled how many payloads it put into orbit that's real growth but over that same time American space launches per year more than quadrupled while US payloads launched increased by nearly 13 times in terms of scale in 2023 the PRC launched 240 payloads to orbit while our nation lofted more than 10 times more over 2,500 payloads and as DOD invests more in space the America's lead will only grow we have all seen in Ukraine how resilient flexible space capabilities can help a determined defender stop a larger aggressor from achieving its objectives we're now approaching a future where the web of satellites we can draw upon is so great that attacking or disrupting them would be futile a wasted effort and a highly escalatory one at that the United States is committed to leading with restraint and responsibility in the space domain and in every domain we do our part to avoid escalation we strive to prevent miscommunication and we work with like-minded nations to keep the space domain peaceful and for the past three years SpaceCom has led the charge under the steady and skilled leadership of General Jim Dickinson here's how Secretary Austin describes Jim's tenure under your strong and principled leadership US SpaceCom ensured that ground and space-based systems around the world were ready to keep our country and our allies safe and your legacy as the first Army General to command US SpaceCom will be a shining example of the next generation of military leaders that is no small praise coming from the Secretary of Defense who of course wishes he could be here today and I know he is in all of our thoughts I spoke with him just yesterday and I can tell you he is on the mend in good spirits and actively engaged in the business of the department so Jim I know you've been relentlessly focused on getting SpaceCom fully prepared to secure America's defense in doing so you've worked to put the right people and processes in place you've deepened SpaceCom's relationships with the services your fellow combatant commands and our space-faring allies and partners all critical for integrating our capabilities even more seamlessly and you've strengthened how we collaborate with America's dynamic commercial space sector that's also vital to our success your time leading SpaceCom caps off an outstanding 38 years of service in the U.S. Army and your wife Angie has supported you throughout she's also been a familiar face at Peterson striving to make military life a little easier for our service members and their families like all military spouses Angie has served and sacrificed and so have your four children Deborah, Hank, Olivia and Joe and our families and America is grateful to them now Jim you're an air defense artillery men you've made a career working to protect against attacks from the skies and I know that's been a vital perspective here as you've overseen the transfer of missile defense off support and planning responsibilities from StratCom to SpaceCom bringing missile warning, missile defense and space domain awareness together as you've seen at every step defending our nation requires the best technical experts and strategic thinkers it requires deft organizational leadership that empowers our warfighters to do their best work it also requires a willingness to innovate to forge into uncharted territory to reach further and higher to discover what's possible and that is exactly how you led this command as a soldier you also know what it means to stand opposed until properly relieved unfortunately confirming your relief took longer than it should have much longer last year's hold on general and flag officer promotions unnecessary unprecedented and unsafe they were bad for the military bad for military families and bad for America and they should never be repeated Secretary Austin and I are glad and lifted and we're committed to getting SpaceCom's leadership team in place as soon as possible so Jim and Angie just as the nation is grateful for your nearly four decades of service we're also grateful to you for delaying your well deserved retirement until your relief arrived today that relief is here and as you pass the colors of SpaceCom to General Stephen Whiting we know he will keep the momentum going this isn't Stephen's first time at SpaceCom he was at Peterson when the first US Space Command was disestablished in 2002 but he was also present for this SpaceCom's rebirth five years ago he was the first commander of one of its two functional components and for the last three plus years he's led Space Operations Command which generates presence and sustains US Space Forces for combatant commands despite 19 moves over three and a half decades Colorado Springs may be his and Tammy's truest home for reasons you heard from Admiral Grady but the Whiting family hasn't always been stationed in the Mountain West at one point Stephen served in the Pentagon as the senior military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense that's not a mark of distinction I'm not sure what is I can't verify this personally I have it on good authority that some of his teammates back then predicted the humble ever professional then Colonel Whiting would someday be the quote supreme galactic overlord of space well General Whiting I don't think I can deliver on that but Commander United States Space Command is pretty close Stephen's time in the Pentagon was one of the few positions to his 30 years serving as a space operations officer and in that time he's witnessed the explosion of international and commercial space activity he's described our era as the second golden age of space he's seen the promise of the second golden age such as last September's record setting tactically responsive space launch mission Victus Knox which lofted a space vehicle just 27 hours after the order came beating the previous record for responsive space launch by some 20 days and he's also seen this era's potential for peril in space like in January 2007 when Stephen was director of the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg and on a small team that monitored in real time the PRC's hit to kill test of an anti-satellite weapon that test created the largest space debris field in history producing over 3,000 pieces of trackable debris that could to this day and for many years to come in dangerous satellites spacecraft and the international space station that dangerous and irresponsible PRC test is partly why in 2022 the United States made an historic commitment not to conduct destructive direct descent anti-satellite missile testing since then 36 other countries have made similar commitments as Stephen later said after watching that test unfold we knew the world had changed back in 1946 those engineers on project Diana could have said the same thing and that goes to show how the fate is in all of our hands space can be a domain of unpredictability, chaos and destruction or a domain of stability tranquility and possibility for the good of all mankind the United States emphatically chooses the latter and we strongly encourage all nations to do the same no matter what the 18,000 professionals will be ever ready to defend American interests in space and uphold our norms as a responsible space fairing nation they are better postured for success thanks to General Dickinson's leadership and they will continue to thrive under General Whiting's command so to Stephen and Tammy welcome to an exciting new adventure and to Jim and Angie thank you for everything you've done for Spacecom for the Army and for America we wish you both and your family all the best thank you Madam Secretary ladies and gentlemen the former commander of the United States Space Command General James Dickinson well good morning we're going to try that again remember this is probably my last public address like this in a uniform and we've always got to start out with a good Colorado morning and maybe even a Hula would we do yesterday chance there we go I heard it so well good morning Secretary Hicks, Admiral Grady thanks for those extraordinarily kind words about me, the command and certainly my family sitting in the front row this is a bittersweet day for me as I look to have turned over command to Stephen Whiting and I'll talk a little bit about Stephen and Bitt but what I want to do is I want to tell you that when I took this command there was a senior level very senior level leader within the U.S. government that I was in a briefing with and I said stated my name and I said I was General Dickinson the commander of the U.S. Space Command and that individual looked at me and he said you know what this is the coolest job in the U.S. government and I said absolutely sir and so this has been a great pleasure for me to get the opportunity to command this remarkable organization and the first thing I want to do is I just want to point to the service members that are in between the two sections of the crowds here and talk about them for a minute I think there's roughly 40 of them that are standing before us today from all the different services that we have to include the Coast Guard and to include our allies and partners they represent the 18,000 men and women that serve each and every day and as we speak around the entire world but what's also unique about them is they are a joint force and so each of them can come from a different service each of them even within their service could have a different experience in terms of what they do as far as their experience in the land air, sea, undersea and even cyber those are all represented within U.S. space command and they're all exercised every day and conduct operations and that is what has given us the ability to go as quickly as we have over the last four years in terms of being able to do space operations and so bringing those skills, those combat experiences together in one single organization coupled with some great leadership from all the services from being listed to the officers that is what the secret sauce is of U.S. space command and that is why we are where we are today it's not because of the equipment it's not because of the machines it's because of the humans that are able to do that each and every day and it includes our allies and partners and our commercial partners as well so let's give them a round of applause for what they do today so when I assumed command in this very hanger three years ago I said U.S. space command would focus on developing, cultivating and embracing a space war fighting culture I am proud of the strides we have made together and reflecting over a dynamic and active period in the space domain I know every effort, every decision point every initiative and every tradeoff was aimed at improving our ability to deter conflict and if necessary to fight and win in space our approach was iterative and inclusive but most importantly it was laser focused on improving our war fighting skills and instilling a war fighting culture in all that we do each and every day through this approach I was confident we would meet our national apparatus and execute our unified command plan and our responsibilities we developed and refined our intent priorities roadmap and measures of effectiveness with the publication of my strategic vision at the same time as Dr. Hicks was talking about the threat was still increasing every day and the world has returned to strategic competition with increased complexity ever since I took command in August of 2020 so what I'd like to do now is go through what I normally do which is a little listing of the threats from the PRC and the Russians given the time I'll just move on because I think Secretary Hicks did a great job capturing that so when I assumed command in August 20 I said US Space Comm would achieve and maintain space superiority by focusing on five key tasks as part of my strategic mission first task was we would gain understanding of our competition by educating our joint war fighters and adversaries and train them to outmaneuver our enemies since 2020 we stood up our intel enterprise by building our joint intelligence operation center we integrated into our team the intelligence communities national agency reps and we assumed the defense intelligence responsibility for on over space order a battle to enable decision makers with relevant and timely intelligence we also stood up and a signals analysis where today we are the only DoD element to provide 24-7 analysis through these efforts we have guaranteed that we retain our leading position at the forefront of technological advancements increase the understanding of the competition by discussing the threat as I did this morning is how it's growing at every opportunity and every engagement both external to the command we created our deliberate processes using our joint fires element so we can message strategically during competition which we do routinely to deter and so we are prepared to do so during conflict the second task we said we would build the command to compete and win by conducting operations sustaining a war fighting culture and adapting to a dynamic and changing strategic environment since 2020 we routinely respond to real world events by providing information assessments and recommendations on time relevant bases to our national level leadership we participated in numerous exercises where we tested our plans and new organizational designs with the support from each of the services we now have five service components and in December we completed our final reorganization by designating the commander of US Space Forces space design joint force space component commander for space operations this organizational design improved the unity of effort and the unity of command for our joint space operations and strengthens our partnerships with the joint force allies and commercial partners the third task we would establish key relationships by strengthening alliances attracting new partners and enhancing interoperability and uniting around a compelling narrative to that end we now have partnerships with 33 nations and international organizations we have enhanced space cooperation MOUs with the United Kingdom Canada and Australia we have benefited from representations from Australia, Canada, the UK Japan, Germany and France and our headquarters as well as out at Vandenberg we have established joint integrated space teams and each combatant commander to enable space integration into their plans exercises and operations and last June I had the privilege of traveling to Europe to speak with the NATO military committee it was a fantastic opportunity and not too bad of a TDY to discuss the space and the challenges we face with all 31 member nations the fourth task we said we would maintain digital superiority through innovating for a competitive advantage evolving cyber operations for an agile and resilient posture and investing in game changing technologies so since 2020 we improved our integration with US cybercom by building our joint cyber center and we have further improved our cyber posture by having two of our five service components dual-hatted as both a space command service component and a cyber service component and finally fifth we would integrate commercial and commercial operations to promote responsible behaviors in space advocate for greater space capabilities and collaborate to solve mutual challenges with all elements of national power and today we now have 139 commercial partners which are critical to our operations and our planning as we make advancements with cutting edge technology like machine learning and artificial intelligence and our joint commercial operations cell has more than 28 commercial partners focused on space domain awareness capability capacity and data sharing so our success to this point is dependent on the strength of our relationships with the joint force our interagency allies and partners in industry as well as academia since 2020 we have achieved a number of critical milestones through the diligent efforts of the devoted military and civilian space professionals of this command we established US space command headquarters command and control capabilities we formed a comprehensive network of allies and partners around the world working toward common goals through the combined space operations board as well as operation Olympic defender we built strategies for commercial integration academic partnerships as well as human capital and we developed specific tenants of responsible behavior making the domain more safe secure and sustainable and we developed our operational plans that were approved and are now being exercised routinely all to say that we are ready and can effectively execute our unified command plan responsibilities so today is the day we have turned over the reins to General Stephen Whiting and that sounds good General Stephen Whiting he I believe is uniquely qualified to lead this command a master at tactics and technical skills command experience at every level a leader who is a servant leader and a leader who is compassionate and strong of course he is extremely familiar with all the issues and aspects of US space command based off the fact of his fast experience in space as well as just being the previous spot commander and so Stephen congratulations Angie and I wish you all the very best as you assume the helm of US space command and the 18,000 service members that comprise the command I want to say special thanks to Secretary Esper, Secretary Austin, Secretary Hicks General's Millie and Brown Admiral Grady for the opportunity of a lifetime to stand up a combatant command and believe it or not there is no playbook that says what do you do to stand up a combatant command thanks to my service component commanders Lieutenant General Dan Carbel who is now retired Lieutenant General Sean Ganey congratulations on your promotion and assuming command as recently as yesterday along with Lieutenant General Stephen Nordhaus Vice Admiral Craig Clapperton Major General Ryan Heritage Lieutenant General Doug Schess I want to thank my staff and Rear Admiral Pennington Colonel Dave Stanfield our narrator today Brigadier General Sitzedari Major General Crusty Endicott Colonel Sean Shane Coyar as well as Major General Gibson Mr. Yu and Mr. Lockhart to my special staff in front office Colonel Megan Shaffer Colonel Bobby Hall Colonel Chris Buckley and Colonel Ray Alvarez and a big thanks to the gentlemen sitting right over here in the front row my command senior enlisted leader Jake Simmons and my final thanks and the most important thanks is to my family and thank you for all the things that sitting there in the front row couldn't have done it without my great kids Debra Hank, Olivia and Joe Joe can't be here because he's flying helicopters around Seoul South Korea it's probably midnight his time but and to their spouses thank you Matt, Sarah and Katie for your incredible support and my final thank you is to Angie so 38 years can't thank you enough you know how much I love you it has been a great ride 38 years of military life I don't know what we're going to do when I retire it's going to be a different life but I'm excited to be able to do it with you and so in a few minutes I look forward to driving off into the sunset and doing something different closing I would just say U.S. Space Command is ready today to face an ever changing and complex strategic environment and to protect and defend the space domain for the nation, our allies and partners I'm honored and humbled to have served as a commander of U.S. Space Command you are the greatest asset are the people within this command and gives us the greatest advantage over our competitors 18,000 warfighters serving around the world today U.S. Space Command will employ our nation's joint military space power to ensure there's never a day without space thank you very much on behalf of the command we would like to present Miss Angie with red roses in recognition for her devotion and dedication to the service members and families of the United States Space Command red is the color of the heart and reflects the loving concern that Mrs. Dick has shown for the space command and their families her roses are in full bloom symbolizing the beauty and fulfillment of her time with the U.S. Space Command thank you ladies and gentlemen the commander U.S. Space Command General Steven Whiting and thank you so much for taking time to attend this ceremony the last 24 hours have been like a protocol of Palooza here at Peterson the joint team who has put this first class event together Tammy and I are grateful to Secretary Austin and Chairman Brown for their unwavering support of this command and thankful to Secretary Hicks and Admiral Grady for not only traveling to represent them here today but also for their vital leadership of the department and the entire joint force to Jim and Angie Dickinson thank you for your outstanding leadership of this command for backing and friendship to Tammy and I during our many years of service together under your leadership this command has solidified its place as an indispensable war fighting teammate with our sister combatant commands and partners around the world you have led U.S. Space Command to achieve full operational capability and placed us on a path to now focus all our energies on our core operational missions to our community civic leaders of the state of Colorado and the front range thank you for your unwavering support for United States Space Command to all the military commands in the local area and to all the families and veterans who proudly call Colorado Springs home it is a pleasure to live here in the Pikes Creek region even on chilly mornings like today and most importantly thank you to my beloved family Tammy, Chase, Olivia Allie Tess, brother, sister in laws my in-laws all of you and to all our dear friends in Colorado Springs and around the world Tammy and I were both born into military families and we thank our parents for demonstrating to us a love for and commitment to serve our nation we can't begin to express our gratitude we know we would not be here today without your support, loyalty and love through the orbits of our life to take command this historic point is a humbling and sobering experience as a duly cadet at the Air Force Academy in 1985 me and my classmates were required to memorize three current event articles from the newspaper each morning and to recite them when directed by an upper class cadet this was meant to teach us that leaders must know and understand the environment in which they are entrusted with leading our nation's citizens and that's an expectation I still carry for myself today and I specifically recall that on September 24th, 1985 I memorized the particulars of an article about the establishment of a new joint U.S. space command being stood up at then Peterson Air Force Base the day prior and I recall thinking I'd like to serve in that command one day well I've gotten my chance and my career has continued to intersect with this command for over 38 years on October 1st, 2002 as a Lieutenant Colonel assigned a U.S. space command as the Deputy Secretary mentioned I sat in this very hangar about where Bill Wolf is sitting right there and watched as General Eberhardt, sir, thank you for being here cased the flag of U.S. Space Command 1.0 and then I watched as the space mission transferred to U.S. Strategic Command and I actually followed it to Omaha a few months later with a very small but dedicated Corps of Space Professionals then on August 29th, 2019 I was sitting in the White House Rose Garden and witnessed this new iteration of U.S. Space Command be established as General Jay Raymond took the reins as the commander during that time as the secretary noted I was honored to serve as the first commander of one of U.S. Space Command's two functional commands and I'm proud to serve again in Space Command with the first commander of the other functional component command from that time Lieutenant General Tom James who is now our Deputy Commander fast forward to this same hangar in 2020 when Tammy and I had the pleasure to witness General Raymond pass the flag to General Dickinson and now I am a bit stunned and as surprised as you are to be here today with all of you receiving these colors from General Dickinson I can assure you while cadet 4th class Whiting might have wanted to serve in this command one day he never would have dreamed he'd be on this stage leadership of America's military daughters and sons is a most sacred trust it is my distinct honor to be entrusted with leading the patriots of this command I have a sober appreciation of the tremendous responsibilities placed on our shoulders to ensure that space remains a sustainable, safe, stable and secure domain for all humankind our highest priority is to preserve freedom of action in space and our moral responsibility is ensuring delivery of space capabilities to the joint force to enable all domain dominance to protect the joint force from space enabled attack and to lead and win the space fight by achieving space superiority the people's republic of China and Russia consider space a war fighting domain and their increasingly assertive actions have made space more contested their actions have created real threats to our national space power and the critical space infrastructure upon which our nation lives this reaffirms my conviction of the importance of the services developing world class space forces to include both war fighters and systems for instance with the stand up of us space force four years ago we now have a service dedicated to organizing training and equipping forces focused on the space domain and in doing so building guardians who spend their careers mastering the distinctive aspects of space and given this unique pairing of a service and a combatant command focused on that realm 100 kilometers above us and extending to the edge of the universe partnership between US space command employing space power and space force must be communicative collaborative and cooperative no doubt there are tensions between services and combatant commands but that's natural based on the very design of goldwater nickels but let me be clear maximizing the outcomes for the nation in space ahead of any organizational equities will be my priority we will succeed together for US space command to achieve our mission requirements we must maximize the joint nature of our command in addition to the space force the army the navy the marine corps and the air force all bring unique capabilities and expertise to our combatant command and we cannot fulfill our unified tasks without them soldiers sailors marines airmen and coast guardsmen also help keep us laser focused on the foundational responsibility of enabling joint force lethality and effectiveness said plainly US space command will not be successful without the contributions of all the services to the secretary deputy secretary chairman and vice chairman I will ensure this command continues to provide no fail space capabilities to the joint force through all levels of conflict space command having recently achieved full operational capability will focus all of our energies on refining our performance of our war fighting missions and unified command plan responsibilities we will provide a formidable deterrent against potential adversary aggression and we will be prepared to win across all levels of conflict through the employment of military space power and integrated trans regional missile defense support capabilities while maximizing our partners with allies coalition members our interagency teammates commercial industry and academia to that end I pledge to work closely with our allies and partners to protect our nations and to succeed in space together no single nation command military service department or agency can succeed alone in space space is a team sport and I promise that this command will be a good teammate with all of our stakeholders together we will continue to build our competitive advantage for the nation and to the soldiers sailors airmen marines guardians coast guardsmen civilians and contractors of this command I commit to lead you in a positive collaborative manner and to provide you with clear war fighting objectives you need to enable unified action the strength of any military formation is its people and the joint space war fighters of this command are the best in the world because of their demonstrated professionalism expertise and unique backgrounds together we will fulfill our promise to the citizens of the united states and our allies to ensure that there will never be a day without space I look forward to serving with all of you thank you again for being here today and may god bless united states space command and the united states of america thank you welcome you and your family with open arms we look forward to the future as part of that welcome we would like to present mrs. whiting with a bouquet of yellow roses welcoming her to united states base command yellow is the color of friendship and in time the rose buds will blossom as will mrs. whiting's relationship with us base command and their families please stand for the playing of the arm services medley by the united states air force academy band stellar brass followed by the departure of the mrs. today there will be a receiving line to extend our congratulations to general whiting and his family and to bid godspeed to general dickinson and his family followed by a welcome reception here in the hangar thank you