Guardians of the Final Frontier: Inside the US Space Force with Chief Master Sergeant John Bentivegna
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In This Week in Space’s fascinating conversation on space exploration and national security, Chief Master Sergeant John Bentivegna of the US Space Force shared remarkable insights about the military's newest branch, its mission, and the critical role of "Guardians" who safeguard America's interests in orbit and beyond.
What Does the Space Force Actually Do?
The Chief Master Sergeant outlined three core functions of the Space Force:
- Assured Space Access: Managing national security launches at facilities like Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Space Force Base. Last year, they supported 93 launches and are on track to exceed 100 this year.
- Global Space Operations: This includes maintaining the GPS constellation that powers position, navigation, and timing services worldwide. "Right now, there are young Guardians sitting in windowless rooms at Schriever Space Force Base monitoring that constellation," Bentivegna noted. They also handle military satellite communications, space-based missile warning, Earth monitoring, and tracking approximately 47,000 objects orbiting Earth.
- Space Control: Ensuring freedom of movement in space while denying adversaries the same capability. Bentivegna emphasized that this area is receiving increased investment as space becomes more contested.
Why Space Force Matters to Everyday Life
The Chief Master Sergeant powerfully illustrated why space security matters to civilians: "When my wife and I went on a cruise out of Miami last year into international waters, I was not standing on the side of the boat with binoculars fearful of pirates coming on the boat, because I knew that the Navy of the world, led by the US Navy, were protecting and securing sea lanes of transit and commerce."
He continued, "I want individuals, when they think about the Space Force and our ability to travel, take advantage of whether it be tourism, space cargo, travel out beyond the moon to Mars, to say that we're able to do that because the guardians of the Space Force secure the nation's interest from into space."
The impact of space assets on everyday life is immense. GPS guides agriculture, banking transactions, communications, shipping, and countless other systems. If these capabilities were suddenly compromised, our economy would grind to a halt.
Guardians: A New Kind of Service Member
The term "Guardians" designates members of the Space Force, similar to how the Army has soldiers and the Air Force has airmen. These personnel operate in what has become a contested domain, monitoring systems that were once considered safe from interference.
"For many years it was kind of a benign environment. We were building these billion-dollar satellites the size of buses," Bentivegna explained. "These big, fat, juicy targets that are just sitting up in space, because when we designed and launched them we were not necessarily thinking about a contested domain, but it has become that."
Space Warfighting Framework
The conversation touched on the recently released Space Warfighting Framework, which establishes common terminology and approaches for space operations. As Bentivegna explained, the Space Force is only five years old and lacks the centuries of doctrine that other services have developed.
"We've never necessarily had war in space—and we don't want that either—but what are the documents like the warfighting construct that we put out to kind of talk about from an integration planning perspective, to communicate to the broader joint and coalition audience?"
The framework serves both external and internal purposes. It helps other military branches understand Space Force capabilities and integration points while also helping Guardians understand their role in the bigger picture.
Responding to Threats in Orbit
When asked about recent incidents involving Russian satellites maneuvering near US assets, Bentivegna discussed the challenges of establishing norms of behavior in space. Unlike maritime or aviation domains, space lacks clearly defined and enforced international norms.
"What is responsible behavior? If you're going to have rendezvous proximity operations, what is a safe distance? Is that considered aggressive or not?" he asked.
The Chief Master Sergeant emphasized that attribution is crucial—knowing what's happening and who's doing it. Beyond diplomatic responses, he acknowledged ongoing discussions about developing capabilities to protect space assets, noting that General Whiting had recently addressed "fires and maneuvers in space and weapons in space."
"Weapons are not inherently offensive or defensive—it's how you employ them," Bentivegna clarified. "But we have to have the ability to protect and defend the resources which we rely on."
He also pointed out that space operations involve three segments: the on-orbit asset, the communication link, and the ground station. When addressing threats, Guardians consider options across this entire ecosystem.
The Future of Space Security
As space becomes increasingly vital to national security and economic prosperity, the role of Space Force Guardians will only grow in importance. Their mission to secure freedom of movement in space enables both military operations and civilian innovation.
"From the Space Force perspective," Bentivegna concluded, "I say this so that explorers can explore, dreamers can dream, innovators can innovate. I just want to play my role as a guardian, because I know that it's a contested domain, but I want to make sure that we have the ability to take advantage of it."
Want to hear more insights from Chief Master Sergeant John Bentivegna? Listen to the full podcast episode of This Week in Space for his complete discussion on Space Force operations, military space careers, and the challenges of protecting America's orbital assets.
