Air Force secretary visits Space Systems Command, meets with Air and Space Force leaders and industry partners

Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink spent May 14 at Space Systems Command’s headquarters on Los Angeles Air Force Base, meeting with senior leaders, receiving mission briefings, recognizing standout performers, and engaging with early career personnel in a visit that underscored the U.S. Space Force’s growing operational and acquisition tempo.

Meink was received by USSF Lt. Gen. Phillip Garrant, the Space Systems Command (SSC) commander, and a slate of SSC senior leaders that included Ms. Natalie Riedel, executive director; USSF Col. Andrew Menschner, deputy commander; USSF CMSgt. Jackie Sauvé, senior enlisted leader; and USAF Brig. Gen. Michelle Idle, mobilization assistant to the commander. Following a command overview, Meink joined SSC program executive officers and acting portfolio acquisition officers for a series of updates spanning the organization’s major mission areas and development efforts.

The visit placed emphasis on people and performance. Before heading to a luncheon with early career Guardians and Airmen, Meink recognized two recent top performers at SSC—Lt. Jennifer Leo and Mr. Michael Fenner—presenting each with a commemorative challenge coin. The recognition highlighted the command’s focus on talent, professional growth, and the hands-on contributions of junior personnel to critical national security space programs.

Industry engagement also figured prominently on the agenda. The day concluded with meetings between Meink and leaders from local aerospace firms that contract with SSC to deliver systems and services supporting the Space Force. Those sessions reflected the command’s reliance on a broad industrial base in the Los Angeles region and beyond to accelerate delivery of space capabilities for warfighters, from satellites and launch services to ground architectures and resilient communications.

Space Systems Command, headquartered in El Segundo, California, is the Space Force organization charged with developing, acquiring, launching, and sustaining space systems and related technologies. Working with other Space Force field commands, the Joint Force, and allied partners, SSC manages programs that provide missile warning and tracking, secure communications, positioning, navigation and timing, space domain awareness, and responsive launch. The command also oversees integration of commercial innovations and rapid acquisition pathways intended to keep pace with evolving threats in the space domain.

As the Department’s senior leader, Meink oversees an annual budget exceeding $200 billion, provides Air and Space forces to combatant commanders in support of global military operations, and is accountable for the welfare of nearly 680,000 active duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian Airmen and Guardians and their families. His visit to SSC comes as the Space Force continues to expand operational constellations, deploy proliferated architectures designed for resilience, and field capabilities on faster timelines through closer alignment with industry and early career talent pipelines.

Taken together, the day’s briefings, recognition ceremony, mentoring luncheon, and industry meetings reflected the Department’s push to strengthen acquisition execution, reinforce workforce development, and deepen public–private collaboration. With SSC at the center of the Space Force’s procurement and sustainment enterprise, senior leader engagement at Los Angeles Air Force Base signaled continued emphasis on speed, resilience, and readiness in space.