EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The United States Space Force was recognized as the ‘honored service’ at the 62nd annual Armed Forces Day Parade May 18 in Torrance, California, one of the largest and longest running celebrations of its type in the United States.
“This is all about connection with the community," said U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, who served as grand marshal of the parade and leads Space Systems Command (SSC), headquartered on Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, Calif., just a few miles from the parade route. "And it’s a chance to give back to the City of Torrance - phenomenal supporters of our military, all of the services.”
Along with the Armed Forces Day events, Space Force personnel participated at Los Angeles Fleet Week and related Memorial Day commemorations across the region.
At the Armed Forces Day Parade, retired Space Force Col. Michael Hopkins served as the honorary grand marshal. Hopkins is a former NASA astronaut who served aboard the International Space Station in 2020, logging a total of 168 days in space and transferring from the U.S. Air Force to the Space Force while in orbit.
“The Space Force in itself is pretty special just because it’s so new; we haven’t been in existence for that long,” Hopkins said. “The fact that now you have the opportunity for everyone to see the Space Force, and hear about what we do, and what we’re capable of, is just fantastic.”
The Space Force is the nation’s newest military branch, with a 2023-24 budget of approximately $30 billion and some 15,000 military and civilian staff, known as “Guardians.” It was formed in 2019 and celebrates its fifth birthday in December of this year. Throughout the celebratory weekend, Guardians, Airmen, civilians and contractors comprising the Space Force’s Space Systems Command came out in force to support Torrance’s three-day salute to our nation’s military and spread the word about the Space Force, its mission, and its history.
“It was a lot of fun,” said 2nd Lt. Matthew Clingerman, one of the Guardians working the event. “Everyone stopped and asked questions like ‘what’s the Space Force do?’ ‘what do you do for the Space Force?’ ‘what are the types of satellite models that we have on display?’ It was a really good experience just to answer their questions and interact with them.”
Highlights included an exhibit area that showcased scale renderings of satellites, replicas of rockets, and a timeline of SSC’s 70-year evolution beginning with the Air Force’s Cold War-era Western Development Division (WDD) research and development organization, which opened its doors in the neighboring city of Inglewood in 1954.
“With our fifth anniversary coming up in December, and our branch marking 70 years since the founding of the WDD in Inglewood, we have a long history here,” said Ms. Michiko Riley, a retired U.S. Air Force officer who oversees community engagements at Space Systems Command.
Torrance city officials estimated the parade audience at more than 60,000; the Space Force was also represented at two separate events tied to the Armed Forces Day Celebration. At a formal evening banquet attended by military and local community guests, Lt. Gen. Garrant made the point that the Space Force’s mission is complex and wide-ranging, in peacetime and otherwise.
“Our mission is to secure our nation’s interests in, from, and to space,” Garrant told the attendees. “We are resilient, ready, and combat credible -- providing the weapon systems, trained personnel, and warfighting expertise required to preserve the United States’ freedom of access and action in space, and to project space power from space – during times of competition, crisis, and conflict."
Garrant also spoke at a separate luncheon for organizers and supporters of the Armed Forces Day celebration, highlighting the wide range of Space Force’s missions and citing the increase in activity at Vandenberg Space Force Base, the nation’s West Coast Launch Range.
“In 2021, Space Systems Command launched 11 rockets from Vandenberg. In 2022, we launched 19. And last year we launched 37 rockets from the California coast,” Garrant said. “Look at that growth! 11 launches to 19 launches to 37 launches. And we have no plans to slow down.”
The general also spoke to the history that Space Systems Command and its predecessors have had in southern California.
“Space Force is the new kid on the block. Officially, we’re only five years old,” Garrant said. “But in reality, our U.S. military has been involved in space for more than 70 years and it all started right here in Los Angeles County.”
Other recent community events in southern California where Space Systems Command personnel represented the service and shared similar messages included Los Angeles Fleet Week, May 22-27 in the Port of Los Angeles at San Pedro, Calif., and related Memorial Day commemorations May 25 in the region.
Fleet Week Los Angeles is a public event hosted by the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard; the annual event honors all the armed forces but is focused on the sea services. Space Force’s missions include direct support of all the armed services, including the U.S. Navy.
“Our country’s satellites provide in-theater secure communications; weather and navigation for ground, air, and fleet operations; and threat warning,” Garrant said. “There is no such thing as a day without space – certainly not in the Twenty-First Century.”