Space Force recruitment doing ‘very well’ despite other branches’ struggles
Mike Brest
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The U.S. Space Force is not facing the tight recruitment environment like the other service branches, according to one of its top officials.
Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman told the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces on Tuesday that their recruiting guardians “very well” currently, though he warned the real problems will be retention and continuing to have a strong applicant pool.
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“I’m almost embarrassed, in front of my peers, to say, but we’re doing very well,” he acknowledged. “Mostly associated with the fact that we have much smaller numbers to recruit and we have the ability to handpick those that decide they want to join the Space Force. So right now, we’re doing OK. The problem is going to be sustainment over time in the quality of the applicants that we can pull in and then retaining them for long enough to really benefit from their experience.”
With roughly 1,000 slots and 42,000 “hits of interest to join the Space Force,” they are able to “take the cream of the crop, if you will,” he said, adding that they have “the luxury of handpicking the best and brightest of a large applicant pool that wants to join the Space Force.” They look for diversity and people who have a “high-quality STEM education,” Saltzman said, noting they have “a very educated” workforce.
He later explained that the average age of the Space Force’s analysts and those who are enlisted is 22 years old, which is “relatively high” compared to the other service branches.
The other military service branches are facing significant recruitment shortfalls again as fewer Americans are eligible to serve. A study from the Pentagon revealed that 77% of young Americans would not qualify for military service without a waiver due to being overweight, using drugs, or having mental and physical health problems, Military.com reported last September.
The services have also cut back on restrictions that would’ve previously excluded someone from serving, such as visible tattoos. The Air Force and Space Force announced earlier this month that they would begin permitting small tattoos on the hands and neck.
“The Department of the Air Force is committed to recruiting talented and qualified individuals, while retaining the experienced airmen and Guardians currently serving,” it said in a press release. “One of the leading barriers currently being tackled is the increased prevalence of hand and neck tattoos among America’s youth.”
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Also, earlier this month, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall acknowledged the service will likely miss its active-duty, reserve, and Air National Guard recruiting goals this year.
“We are currently projecting about a 10% shortfall this year in the active Air Force and more in the Guard and Reserve,” he said. “We are swimming upstream against reduced propensity to serve nationally across the board and a limited percentage of qualified candidates.”