President Trump tapped Air Force Gen. John Raymond on Tuesday to head the U.S. Space Command that Trump authorized the creation of last year.
According to the Pentagon, Raymond will at least temporarily serve as both commander of U.S. Space Command and as commander of Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, where he is serving presently — provided he is confirmed.
The creation of the Space Command, which is designed to expedite U.S. space capabilities and will focus on countering threats to U.S. space systems, was approved by Trump in December 2018. The command, which previously existed from 1985-2002, is different from creating the Space Force as a separate branch of the military.
Although Trump has pushed for creating a sixth branch of the military called the Space Force, Congress must approve such a move. Lawmakers, including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., have pushed back on the White House proposal.
Before Raymond headed Air Force Space Command, he served as deputy chief of staff for operations at the Air Force’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Raymond, who was commissioned into the Air Force in 1984 after he participated in Clemson University’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, also served overseas in Southwest Asia in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
