Guardians,
In the last C-Note , I outlined the three Lines of Effort (LOEs) that will drive our priorities during my time as CSO. Over the next few months, I will release C-Notes that explain each LOE in more detail.
We must always start here – we are Guardians first. So, LOE 1: Forging the Guardian Ethos underpins how we act, how we fight, and the character of our Service. Specifically, the Guardian Ethos reminds us that we are one team, forged in shared purpose, providing spacepower to deter aggression and defeat adversaries. Our ethos is rooted in three core principles.
First, our shared focus and specialized understanding of the space domain provides each and every Guardian, regardless of rank, career field, or military/civilian status, with a common commitment to the method of war that distinguishes the Space Force from other services and forms our distinctive contributions to the Joint Force. Today, we need to evolve this foundational Guardian DNA, forging it into an Ethos with a common warfighting philosophy – one that integrates our force design, capability development, force generation, and force employment activities. We will carry this perspective throughout the Service’s capstone theories, concepts, doctrine, and training.
Second, Guardians exist to prepare for war just like any other military force. Our mission is to secure the space domain through combat-credible space forces that support our Nation’s deterrence efforts and ensure space superiority. We achieve space superiority in two ways: we prepare for war and, when called upon, we defeat America’s adversaries. Our Guardian Ethos is rooted in our readiness to defeat our Nation’s adversaries. From the acquisitions professionals designing and acquiring our weapons systems to the intelligence, cyber, and space operators maneuvering in the battlespace, everything we do derives from the principle that readiness produces victory.
And third, the Service must deliver the Quality of Life (QoL) and Quality of Service (QoS) our Guardians and their families need to be successful. Our warfighters, regardless of rank or specialty, can fight with confidence only when they know their personal and family interests are taken care of and secure. This requires that the Space Force be able to proactively evaluate Guardians’ QoL and address issues when they are identified. Guardian families are asked to sacrifice in many ways, so Debbie and I see it as our personal duty to do everything we can to take care of them.
Taken together, these three principles mark Guardians as a unique type of warfighter – technically proficient yet creative, resolute yet adaptable, integrated in the joint fight but distinctly focused on warfighting activities in, from, and to space. Ultimately, the Guardian Ethos includes a sacred covenant: Guardians commit to mastery of the domain, and the Service commits to readying and sustaining Guardians and their families. This is foundational to who we are and how we will fight and win whenever called upon to do so.
Semper Supra!
R, Gen. Schiess
DOUGLAS A. SCHIESS
General, USSF
Chief of Space Operations