‘We can do better’: Space Force chief says mission statement’s a dud

What does the Space Force actually do?

The service’s top general just asked all of his members that very same question.

In a note to all guardians on Monday, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman noted that the three-year-old service’s current mission statement falls well short of explaining the mission of the Space Force.

“I have some concerns with our current mission statement,” Saltzman wrote. “My biggest concern is that the mission statement does not reflect why the Nation has a Space Force and the vital functions Guardians perform.”

The current mission statement reads as follows:

“The USSF is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping Guardians to conduct global space operations that enhance the way our joint and coalition forces fight, while also offering decision makers military options to achieve national objectives.”

The current mission statement was formed directly after the service was established in December 2019, according to a Space Force spokesperson.

In his note, Saltzman said that organizing, training and equipping is actually a small sample of what the service does.

“Guardians deliver capability,” he wrote. “Guardians operate some of the most technologically advanced systems in the world. In doing so, they deter aggression and, should deterrence fail, protect U.S. interests with military force. Additionally, our current mission statement is long and cumbersome. We can do better.”

Space Force members are responsible for buying new space equipment and tracking missiles, while monitoring satellites, launches and orbital debris.

The other problem, he notes, is that the mission statement isn’t catchy.

“How many Guardians can recite the current mission statement of the Space Force?” he asked. “My guess is very few.”

The Space Force’s identity problem is not new. Since its inception, the service has struggled to be taken seriously as it tried to separate itself from the (now canceled) Netflix show with the same name. It’s tried to shake off its association with former President Donald Trump, while also attempting to make clear it’s not about hunting UFOs.

To fix the problem, Saltzman is asking guardians to send in their own submissions for a new mission statement.

By crowd-sourcing the change, Saltzman is taking a page from the service’s early efforts to come up with a name for its members and dreaming up a service song.

Saltzman will consider four attributes when crafting the new mission statement. The new mantra must be informative, memorable, inclusive and receive buy-in.