Graduating Guardians set to support the joint force

Fifty-four newly minted Guardian officers graduated from the U.S. Space Force’s Officer Training Course during a June 26 ceremony at Peterson Space Force Base, the latest infusion of talent into a service that has now seen more than 350 officers complete the program since its launch in August 2025.

The graduates will head to operational assignments across the globe, with postings that include the United Kingdom, Greenland and Florida. Maj. Gen. James E. Smith, commander of Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM), delivered the keynote address and urged the cohort to meet the demands of leadership in a rapidly evolving domain.

“Today is a milestone, the beginning of your service to the operational force as Guardian officers,” Smith said. “The Space Force needs you to be committed — committed to learning, committed to leading and committed to the standard. Commit to becoming the kind of officer others can trust when the mission gets hard.”

The Officer Training Course serves as the Space Force’s initial skills program for newly commissioned officers. All Guardian officers attend OTC within their first year of service, whether they commission via a service academy, the Reserve Officer Training Corps or Officer Training School.

Students train across a broad mission set—space operations, cyberspace warfare, intelligence and acquisitions—before putting those disciplines to work in a capstone exercise that concludes the course. Since the inaugural graduation last year, STARCOM has sharpened the curriculum by introducing mentorship and advisor roles and bolstering academics, operational scenarios, exercises and site visits, according to Lt. Col. Liam Conley, commander of the 537th Training Squadron.

The latest class, designated Cohort 25-005, drew officers from diverse backgrounds and commissioning sources. Among them was Capt. Jason Tyx, who brought more than 22 years of Marine Corps service as an enlisted Marine and warrant officer before transferring to the Space Force. The group also included 17 prior enlisted service members and graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy and U.S. Naval Academy.

With graduation complete, the officers will move immediately into follow-on training and operational billets across the Space Force’s enterprise.

“These Guardians are entering the force with a complete picture of how space operations, intelligence, cyber and acquisitions work together to secure U.S. spacepower,” Conley said. “Armed with this well-rounded foundation, they will accelerate much faster than previous generations of single-skillset officers.”