The United States Space Forces Indo-Pacific (USSPACEFOR-INDOPAC) is the

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

component

field command The United States Space Force is organized by different units: the Space Staff, the field commands, and the space deltas. The Space Force is organized as one of two coequal military service branches within the Department of the Air Force, the o ...

to the

United States Indo-Pacific Command United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific, Indo-Pacific region. Formerly known as United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) since its incept ...

. It plans, coordinates, supports, and conducts employment of space operations across the full range of military operations, including security cooperation, in support of the combatant command's objectives. It was activated on 22 November 2022.

History

Director of Space Forces, Pacific Air Forces

USSPACEFORINDOPAC's presence in the

traces back to the director of space forces (DIRSPACEFOR) construct before the establishment of the Space Force. When the Space Force was still

Air Force Space Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

, there would be a space operations officer called the DIRSPACEFOR in every air service component command that would advise the air component commander on matters relating to space operations. As such, there was a director of space forces assigned to

Pacific Air Forces Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (fo ...

. During the standup of USSPACEFORINDOPAC, the DIRSPACEFOR staff became the new component command staff and Col Anthony J. Zilinsky III became the last director of space forces to Pacific Air Forces.

List of director of space forces

* Col Christopher S. Putnam, July 2018 – July 2020 * Col Anthony J. Zilinsky III, October 2020 – November 2022

Establishment

Initial plans for establishment of Space Force component field commands started in 2021 when then Colonel Anthony Mastalir was assigned as director of space forces at the

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

and stand up the

United States Space Forces Central The United States Space Forces Central (USSPACEFOR-CENT) is the United States Space Force component field command to the United States Central Command. Headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, it plans, coordinates, supports, and conduct ...

(USSPACEFORCENT). USSPACEFORCENT was supposed to be the first Space Force component field command. In November 2021, Secretary

Frank Kendall III Frank Kendall III (born January 26, 1949) is an American engineer, lawyer and executive who is the 26th and current United States Secretary of the Air Force. He has served in several senior positions in the U.S. Department of Defense. A West Poi ...

approved the creation of Space Force elements in

U.S. European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia ...

U.S. Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...

, and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, but establishing those elements as component commands required

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

approval. By May 2022, plans were changed to first establish the USSPACEFORINDOPAC because China being the pacing threat. "We very deliberately chose INDOPACOM first because we want the nation, the Department of Defense, that combatant command, and anyone who might wish us harm in that region to understand that's what we pay attention to every single day," said General

David D. Thompson David Dean Thompson (born February 18, 1963) is a retired United States Space Force General (United States), general who served as the first vice chief of space operations from 2020 to 2023. He served as the vice commander of the Air Force Spac ...

after the command's activation. On 25 October 2022, Thompson announced that the USSPACEFORINDOPAC would be established on 22 November 2022, with Mastalir taking the helm as its first commander. It would be the Space Force's first component field command, followed by the standup of component field commands in

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...

and

United States Forces Korea United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a Unified Combatant Command#Subordinate Unified Command, sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK is the joint headquarters for U.S. combat-re ...

. According to Mastalir, USSPACEFORINDOPAC would be initially composed of less than 100 Space Force personnel. For its first six months, the command would focus on mission analysis and planning. In a ceremony on 22 November 2022, USSPACEFORINDOPAC was activated. Admiral John C. Aquilino handed over the unit flag to Mastalir who assumed as the first commander of USSPACEFORINDOPAC.

Structure

United States Space Forces Indo-Pacific (USSPACEFORINDOPAC), Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii *

United States Space Forces Korea The United States Space Forces Korea (USSPACEFORKOR) is the United States Space Force component field command to the United States Forces Korea. Headquartered in Osan Air Base, South Korea, it plans, coordinates, supports, and conducts employmen ...

(USSPACEFORKOR), Osan Air Base, South Korea

Heraldry

Emblem

The USSPACEFORINDOPAC emblem has the following symbolism: * The North Star,

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

, positioned at the delta's apex, reflects the Space Force's mantra, "''Semper Supra''," which means "always above." * Four points mark character, connection, commitment, and courage, the four cornerstones of the Space Force's Guardian Ideal. * Three deltas emanate from the field command's terrestrial home and represent the Spacepower disciplines of

orbital warfare Space warfare is hypothetical combat in which one or more belligerents are situated in outer space. The scope of space warfare therefore includes ''ground-to-space warfare'', such as attacking satellites from the Earth; ''space-to-space warfare ...

, space battle management, and

space electronic warfare Electromagnetic warfare or electronic warfare (EW) is warfare involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy operations. The purpose of electromagneti ...

, each outlined in Victory Blue, attributed to the service's Air Force heritage. * Gray rings and circles encircling the globe represent the primary

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...

s on which Guardians operate. * The black field symbolizes the infinity of space, representing that there are no limits to what Guardians can achieve.