SCHRIEVER SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The 319th Combat Training Squadron and their Reserve Associate unit, the 42nd CTS, hosted a ceremony for the first 43 graduates of the Enlisted Undergraduate Space Training course at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, Feb. 23, 2024.
Typically, the two squadrons teach advanced space warfighting courses on orbital warfare, space battle management, space electronic warfare and military intelligence. However, due to ongoing facility upgrades at Vandenberg Space Force Base, as well as the number of personnel transferring to the U.S. Space Force, the squadrons were tasked with teaching Enlisted Undergraduate Space Training course for the next year. To facilitate the personnel surge, the 319th CTS leveraged Military Personnel Appropriation (MPA) Tours to bring in additional six qualified instructors from the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard with a wide array of experience to support the six Active Component instructors.
“For 15 weeks, Class 24-001 was instructed by a military cadre that represented the total force integration concept,” said Maj. Jerrel Curry, the 319th Combat Training Squadron assistant director of operations during the ceremony. “Air Reserve Components from both the Reserve and Air National Guard were instructors for this class and represent nearly 100 years of experience with space operations to develop the Space Force’s newest space operators.”
The course lays the groundwork for a career as a space warfighter and covers a broad spectrum of space topics to include military space history, space policy, orbital mechanics and cyberspace operations.
The 319th and 42nd CTS are a total force team of over 150 Guardians, Airman, civilians, and contractors training space warfighters through world-class instruction to overcome the challenges of an evolving and contested battlespace.