July 16 (UPI) — The Space Force announced Thursday that it has selected 2,410 active-duty airmen — from a pool of 8,500 who volunteered — for transfer into the military’s newest branch, beginning Sept. 1.
“This is an exciting and historic time for these space operators who will be some of the first members to join the Space Force,” said Lt. Gen. David “DT” Thompson, vice commander, U.S Space Force, in a press release from the service. “Each one of them has an important responsibility to contribute bold ideas to shape the Space Force into a 21st century service.”
According to the Space Force, the airmen being transferred are space operations officers and enlisted space systems operations specialists.
Airmen from 11 other specialties are eligible for transfer into the force and are likely to do so in 2022 or 2023.
Service members who have been selected for transfer will receive messages later this month with instructions for required administrative tasks to complete prior to completing their transfers, and some may complete transfers after September if they have other administrative processes — such as promotion boards — to complete.
“There has been substantial planning behind the scenes between the Space Force and Air Force personnelists to get us to this day,” said Patricia Mulcahy, deputy chief of space operations for personnel and logistics. “We understand the personal circumstances that influence a member’s decision to volunteer for transfer, and I am incredibly proud of the team’s thoughtfulness put into every decision to ensure we provide members with as seamless a transfer process as possible.”
According to the Space force, those selected from the pool of volunteer applicants were in space operations career fields.
Other volunteers were from fields common to the Air Force and the Space Force, such as intelligence, cyberspace operations, developmental engineers and acquisition managers. More than 16,000 military members and civilian Department of Defense personnel have already been assigned to the Space Force, which was created in December.
