Bootcamp to Begin for First Class of Space Force Recruits

October 21, 2020 by Reece Nations
Bootcamp to Begin for First Class of Space Force Recruits

SAN ANTONIO – The military’s newest branch, the United States Space Force, swore in its first recruits Tuesday, Oct. 20.

Seven recruits, five men and two women, will commence the force’s inaugural boot camp at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland for seven and a half weeks, according to local affiliate KABB Fox News 29. These recruits are set to become the first enlisted members the force has trained and not acquired from other services. 

The USSF expects to recruit 312 enlisted members in 2021 and between 300 to 500 the following year, according to Air Force Magazine. The process by which the force selected its recruits focused less on standardized testing and more on personal assessments conducted by interviews.

“All the (Air Force specialties) currently will do what is basically the Air Force basic training course, with some adjustments to the courseware to implement the space courses,” Chief Master Sgt. Shane Pilgrim, the Space Force’s chief of enlisted force development, told Air Force Magazine. “We have three (training instructors) currently assigned to Lackland that are space professionals. So that’s how we’re building in these space experiences—having the flight led by a space T.I., having specific courseware to space—but they are still going through Air Force BMT (Basic Military Training) for all intents and purposes.”

In addition to undergoing the same regimen as U.S. Air Force recruits, the recruits will learn “law, policy, orbital mechanics, electromagnetic waves and signals, space environment, space systems, command authorities, and joint space warfighting,” according to a Space Force release.

Prospective recruits should know the Space Force’s workforce will rely more heavily on civilians and officers than the Air Force’s, Pilgrim said. Other military specialties are more physical than Space Force’s and require more deployments.

“We are going to incorporate some video-enhanced courseware, some stuff where we can actually leverage technology to bring the experience of current space professionals into BMT instead of the traditional PowerPoint,” Pilgrim told Air Force Magazine. “Either livestreaming panels or building pre-recorded videos of professionals talking about the different space competencies (are) some of the things we’re going to do.”

Although it is still far from becoming reality, United States Space Command leader Maj. Gen. John Shaw said Space Force troops will eventually be sent to space, TWN previously reported. The Space Force recruited more than 2,400 troops in September. 

Once the recruits have finished their basic training, they will undergo further specialty training, according to Air Force Magazine.

Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., will conduct training for cyber specialists; Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, will conduct training intelligence professionals; Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, Calif., will conduct training for space operators.

“I feel like a pioneer going into a new realm of the military,” Second Lt. Elizabeth Kowal said in a release. “This is literally the adventure of a lifetime and I can’t wait to jump in with everything that I have.” 

A+
a-
  • basic training
  • Department of Defense
  • military
  • Pentagon
  • Space Force
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Military

    Harris Repudiates Trump Worldview and Says the US Won't Back Down on Ukraine's Defense

    MUNICH (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday warned of the dangers of growing authoritarianism and isolationism in a... Read More

    MUNICH (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday warned of the dangers of growing authoritarianism and isolationism in a not-so-veiled repudiation of Donald Trump’s worldview and threats to renege on security guarantees for NATO allies should he return to the White House. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Harris offered... Read More

    Biden to Attend Dignified Transfer for Three US Troops Killed in Jordan

    WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will join grieving families at Dover Air Force Base on... Read More

    WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will join grieving families at Dover Air Force Base on Friday to honor three American service members killed in a drone attack in Jordan, a solemn ritual that has become relatively uncommon in recent years as the... Read More

    Defense Department to Target 'Forever Chemicals' Contamination Near Michigan Military Base

    The U.S. Department of Defense plans to install two more groundwater treatment systems at a former Michigan military base to... Read More

    The U.S. Department of Defense plans to install two more groundwater treatment systems at a former Michigan military base to control contamination from so-called forever chemicals, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin's office announced Friday. Environmentalists say the systems will help prevent PFAS from spreading into the Clarks... Read More

    Hamas Frees First Batch of Hostages Under Temporary Cease-Fire, Including 13 Israelis

    RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas on Friday released 24 hostages who had been held captive in Gaza for weeks,... Read More

    RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas on Friday released 24 hostages who had been held captive in Gaza for weeks, including 13 Israelis, 10 people from Thailand and a Filipino citizen, according to Qatar and other officials, in the first stage in a swap for Palestinians... Read More

    Live Updates | Cease-Fire Pleas and Israel-Hamas Recriminations Rise in Wake of Gaza Hospital Blast

    President Joe Biden is in Israel on an urgent mission to keep the Israel-Hamas war from spiraling into a broader... Read More

    President Joe Biden is in Israel on an urgent mission to keep the Israel-Hamas war from spiraling into a broader regional conflict and to encourage the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. The president's visit on Wednesday came after hundreds of people were reported killed... Read More

    US Announces Sanctions Against Group of 10 Hamas Members and Financial Network

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. announced sanctions on Wednesday against a group of 10 Hamas members and the Palestinian militant... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. announced sanctions on Wednesday against a group of 10 Hamas members and the Palestinian militant organization's financial network across Gaza, Sudan, Turkey, Algeria and Qatar as it responds to the surprise attack on Israel that left more than 1,000 people dead or kidnapped.... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top