Q&A: Meet STARCOM’s First Historian

  • Published
  • By Space Training and Readiness Command Public Affairs

Amongst the very small number of Guardians composing Space Training and Readiness Command’s special staff sits the one person charged with documenting all of STARCOM’s history.

Dr. Rick Sturdevant recently joined STARCOM as the Command Historian, charged with continuing the legacy of space training and readiness.

Dr. Sturdevant earned his first degree in 1969--a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Northern Iowa, graduating summa cum laude. He received a Master of Arts degree in history from the University of Northern Iowa in 1974 after successfully researching, writing, and defending a thesis titled “Girding for War: Conditions Underlying the Response of Iowa Counties to Troop Calls, 1861-1862.” The University of California, Santa Barbara, awarded him the Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1982 after he submitted a dissertation titled “Quest for Eden: George Washington’s Frontier Land Interests.”

A Vietnam-era veteran, Dr. Sturdevant served as a surgical specialist in the United States Army Medical Corps at Fort Carson, Colorado, during 1971-1973. He was the honor graduate from both the “field medic” and “surgical specialist” schools at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, as well as the distinguished graduate from “Noncommissioned Officer Leadership School” at Fort Carson.

Over the course of his 50-year dedication to history Dr. Sturdevant completed more than 100 articles and essays, contributed to 115 book reviews, served as a subject matter expert in 8 film documentaries and numerous conference speaking engagements and guest lecturer.

We had the distinct opportunity to speak with Dr. Sturdevant about his new role and importance of history in how we approach the present, and the future.

Tell us a little bit about the history of STARCOM?

The historical roots of STARCOM are traceable back to Task Force Tango, a planning group formed at Air Force Space Command headquarters in February-March 2019 to support Major General Clint Crosier’s Space Force Planning Task Force in the Pentagon. The term “STARCOM” appeared as early as 18 March 2019 in a Task Force Tango briefing. A USSF Field Design Workshop at Peterson AFB, Colo., in January 2020 included discussions regarding the creation of a STARCOM. Participants explored “go fast” and “go slow” options for creating STARCOM per direction from the Chief of Space Operations (CSO), Gen John W. “Jay” Raymond, but briefings in late June 2019 already had contained a STARCOM mission description that essentially mirrored the command’s mission when the command activated at Peterson Space Force Base on 23 August 2021.

Of course, substantial additional work to establish and activate STARCOM occurred during 2020 and the first half 2021. In July 2020, a provisional STAR Delta, known as STAR Delta (P) and led by Colonel Pete Flores, stood up under Space Operations Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, to provide oversight of Space Force education, training, and operational test and evaluation units pending STARCOM activation. STAR Delta (P) focused on mission. Following dissolution of Task Force Tango, a STARCOM Task Force also formed to focus on organizational issues, with Col Bill Havens temporarily leading it from mid-November 2020 until 1 February 2021, when Brigadier General Shawn Bratton became Task Force leader. General Bratton would become first STARCOM commander in August 2021.

Why does history matter? What is lost if historians didn’t exist within the military?

Military historians are often called providers of “corporate memory.” The philosopher George Santayana observed, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” That statement has been paraphrased in many ways, such as “Those who neglect history are doomed to repeat it” or “Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them.” Keep in mind, history is more than simply names and dates; it is, literally, the story of the past events, explained in a way that enhances our understanding of the present and our possible futures. Without keepers of the history, it would be infinitely more difficult for military members to understand their profession and cultivate the skills needed for advancement in rank. Understanding strategic or tactical successes and failures from past military events can inform current planning and decision making. If historians didn’t exist in the military, it would be infinitely more difficult to maintain an extensive data base from which to draw, in timely fashion, detailed analytical material about past successes or failures that might inform understanding of current situations. If historians did not exist within the military, its members would likely have a much weaker sense of their place or role in the present, because a fertile understanding of present circumstances depends on a rich knowledge of the past. Appreciating the vector from past to present, is necessary for plotting the most probable arc toward the future.

How can we help you and how can you help us?

Every member of the STARCOM team, both in the headquarters and the deltas, can help me—their command historian—by becoming proactive and providing any documentation they deem historically important. If anyone wonders whether a particular document is worth sending to the historian, SEND IT. Without your help, I cannot build the historical archive this command needs to answer requests for historical services in the future. I can only provide historical services for you and your successors if the records of a project or program have been preserved. If I have the history and can share it with STARCOM members, from senior leaders to action officers, might benefit them in their decision-making for the future.

Why is it important as a new field command for us to have a dedicated historian?

From July through November 2021, STARCOM did not have a dedicated historian, and I have found it challenging to fill that chronological gap with adequate documentation. Yet, critically significant decisions that will impact the command for years into the future were being made. The final products remain, but how and why they evolved as they did was not adequately preserved. That is regrettable, because someone in the command’s future undoubtedly will want to know the background that led to those decisions and not some alternative. The small STARCOM team of today is establishing the pathway into the future, and people a decade or two from now will want to know how and why their organizational situation is what it is.

What is the most historically significant event you’ve been able to document as a space historian?

As the Space Communications Division historian during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, I collected documents—including the original, handwritten drawing—of how engineers in Building 1 at Peterson AFB designed and implemented the Scud Alert Network. That network, which involved satellite, microwave, and hardwired secure communication pathways and red phones continually off the hook, allowed personnel in Colorado Springs to transmit to US and Coalition forces in theater “Scud Alerts” followed by “Scud Warnings” whenever Defense Support Program early warning satellites detected the infrared signature of an Iraqi missile launch. This gave friendly forces time to take protective measures. The system sent alerts on every Iraqi scud launch and warnings on all except one—the strike on Dhahran Barracks that killed 28 and wounded more than 100 US Army reservists.

As an Air Force Space Command historian, I covered the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, followed by the contribution of space-based capabilities to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.