Guardian Spotlight Series: Q&A with Space Systems Command’s Lt. Col. Charles “Chuck” DeBree

Published May 19, 2025
By Lisa Sodders & Linda Kane, Space Systems Command Public Affairs

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Lt. Col. Charles “Chuck” DeBree became the new commander of Detachment 5 at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. in February 2025. With a focus on Space Systems Command’s Organize, Train, and Equip strategy, Debree’s Det. 5 team of 25 professionals currently support more than 2,500 SSC personnel across six Program Executive Offices, the Warfighting Integration Office, Contracting, and S-Staff (senior leadership and staff organizations) in more than 25 different operating locations.

Previously, DeBree served as materiel leader for Physical Test and Training in Space Systems Command’s Operational Test and Training Infrastructure (OTTI) program executive office. He was born and raised in Maryland and has bachelor’s degrees in computer and electrical engineering and a master’s degree in systems engineering, all from Pennsylvania State University.

Space Systems Command (SSC) Public Affairs representatives recently sat down with Lt. Col. Debree to learn more about his role and his team’s support of the Space Force mission and our Nation’s warfighters.

Q: What is Detachment 5 and what does it do?

A: Detachment 5 is part of SSC’s command staff. I really see us as Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant’s local representative in Colorado, taking care of SSC’s people there. We are focused on the Organize, Train and Equip mission.

Within that, we have several different functions focused on mission support. It’s everything from executing Uniform Code of Military Justice-type actions to running a commander’s support staff, assisting the program offices with personnel actions, unit deployment manager functions, tracking training completion, and monitoring medical readiness. In addition to that, we help with hiring processes, and coordination between the PEOs, SSC/S1 (human resources), Enterprise Talent Management Office, and local base personnel offices.

In addition to having that human resources function, we help take care of all the collateral industrial security, physical security, and personnel security requirements in Colorado as an extension of SSC’s Information Protection team and we’re starting to take on special security roles to ensure personnel have access to the facilities and systems they need to execute their mission. Our security team also executes our Operational Security, Anti-Terrorism, and Force Protection programs in coordination with Space Base Delta 1, a U.S. Space Force unit assigned to Space Operations Command (SpOC) and headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base.

Along with from human resources and security, the Detachment also provides facility management and information technology support for the local units. Whether it’s the six facilities we help manage on Peterson Space Force Base, the two facilities on Schriever Space Force Base, or coordination as a focal point with Space Base Delta 1 regarding the host tenant support agreements for the 18 off-base facilities that are operated by Space Systems Command programs, we are focused on ensuring that local SSC personnel have the resources they need to accomplish the mission. We manage an enterprise information technology (IT) helpdesk that supports over a dozen programs, and we also handle IT inventory accounts for local command staff organizations.

Lastly, the Detachment also oversees financial management functions, and that’s one interesting thing about how our mission set has been evolving over the years. Det. 5 has historically been the home of all sustainment activities, first as part of Space & Missile Systems Center and more recently for SpOC. Det. 5 used to manage all of the weapons systems sustainment funds and we are now partnering with SpOC to transition Weapon System Sustainment Executive Agent functions over to SpOC S4W (Logistics and Facilities / Weapon System Sustainment) and SpOC S8W (Plans and Programs for Weapon System Sustainment.) Similarly, as Mission Deltas stand up and product support functions transition from SSC to SpOC, Det. 5 continues to support the Mission Deltas with exemplary facility, IT, and security support.

Collectively between the System Deltas and Mission Deltas that are out here, Det. 5 is helping to support nearly every mission area in the Space Force. From GPS (Global Positioning System) to SBIRS (Space-Based Infrared System) to Military Satellite Communications constellations, to Battle Management Command, Control and Communications (BMC3) capabilities to Space Domain Awareness systems, we are helping to support the space enterprise. Additionally, we are partnering with other services such as the Air Force Nuclear Warfare Center to ensure close coordination between SSC programs and user equipment such as the FAB-T (Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals) satellite communication (SATCOM) terminals.

Q: Det. 5 originally started out as a software support facility operating out of Colorado Springs, in support of the Satellite Control Network, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., correct?

A: Yes. Det. 5 has evolved significantly over the years. We were Det. 11 at one point; we’ve been the Space Logistics Center; we’ve been the Space Logistics Support Squadron; we’ve been the Product Support Directorate under SSC’s former Enterprise Corps. Generally, the core functions we provide don’t go away. Colorado has long been a hub for how we handle space systems transition, fielding, and sustainment.

Eventually, capabilities acquired by SSC program offices transition the capabilities for product support and sustainment to the teams out here. While it is true that sustainment missions are transitioning over into SpOC Mission Deltas, the Det. 5 team continues to be relevant to SSC as we support growing System Deltas for BMC3 and OTTI and as we continue to support Command Staff functionals located here in Colorado.

Q: Let’s talk a little bit about sustainment: you launch a satellite on orbit, the launch is successful but now you must sustain that satellite. You can’t physically go to the satellite and add new technology…

A: I was recently discussing this with George Gonzales, the product support manager for SSC’s MILSATCOM portfolio, and he gave me a past example where one of our legacy satellites was still functionally performing but was beginning to have hardware failures that could have resulted in system failure.

Basically, there are two sets of duplicative, redundant hardware on many satellites, and if one of them goes down, our operators can switch over to the other set of hardware. Well, on this particular satellite, given that it’s a fairly old satellite, both the A and B automated hardware for pointing the antennas back to earth to be able to get telemetry had failed. He and his team had to come up with incredibly creative software solutions to be able to ensure the antennas were pointed properly at our Satellite Control Network (SCN) antennas to continue to receive commands and operate nominally. Ingenious problem-solving skills like this are critically required within our product support teams because we typically can’t go up on-orbit and fix these systems.

Now, that was a result of hardware failure – in other cases, it could be that we get new updates to operating systems or the ground software. And we need to roll that out and make sure that we’re not affecting the system and that it still works as intended, but at the same time, that it’s cyber-resilient. So, there is a lot of work that goes into the ground systems. When you think about any of our satellite constellations, there’s the actual space vehicle, the ground control segment and then the user equipment. The teams here place a lot of effort into trying to continuously enhance and upgrade our systems to take full advantage of every bit of fielded capability.

Q: What would you say is the biggest challenge facing the Detachment now?

A: A lot of evolution is happening right now in terms of how the Space Force and specifically SSC is structured with Mission Deltas and System Deltas standing up. We’re trying to make sure nothing gets dropped and that we’re taking care of our people throughout these changes. [System Deltas (SYD) are new organizations within the Space Force, designed to align systems and capabilities with operator needs and integrate them into operational environments. Mission Deltas (MD) are the Space Force organizational units that combine operations, sustainment, cyber, and intelligence functions.]

It’s an exciting time as our service focuses on mission alignment and ensuring that our personnel work seamlessly side-by-side. We have acquirers embedded with our operators and with our test and training communities. It’s an exciting and revolutionary time as these MD and SYD constructs stand up and as the service continues to form our own identity and our own culture. We are on the front lines as the service optimizes how we need to organize to be most effective.

Q: What do you mean by “test and training communities?”

A: The Space Force is actively working to stand up test and training ranges through the combined efforts of Space Training and Readiness Command Deltas and the Operational Test & Training Infrastructure (OTTI)program executive office. In essence, those two organizations are pioneering the “Space Force Test Center” and the “Space Force Warfare Center,” so we need to think a little bit differently about how we do some of our test and training functions.

Historically, when space was more of a benign environment, functional tests and functional training was enough. Our operators became experts on their system, but often we didn’t have to concern ourselves with adversary threats or broader force packaging of our various systems. We did an outstanding job of integrating space capabilities into other domains to support the joint fight, but we weren’t always integrating systems across our own mission areas. As a service, today we are rapidly evolving toward a more integrated, system-of-systems architecture as space becomes more contested.

Now we need to think about “I can't just focus on just my SATCOM system; I need to be thinking about the Orbital Warfare mission sets, I need to be thinking about what's happening in terms of Space Domain Awareness and Command and Control,” and so as a result, it's driving us to a new construct.

And this is part of what OTTI is helping to support; as the service stands up integrated test forces, the OTTI team is building out the advanced capabilities that they will need to execute those integrated test and training activities.

Q: With a last name like “DeBree” do you ever get asked why you’re not working in Space Domain Awareness with orbital debris?

A: [Laughs] Back in 2014, I was working in Space Superiority Systems (SY) and the directorate’s deputy, Col. Erik Bowman, actually gave me the call sign of “Orbital!” It’s stuck with some audiences, but a lot of folks just call me Chuck as well. At that time, SSC’s commander, Lt. Gen. Garrant was a colonel, running SY. It’s certainly an honor to work for Lt. Gen. Garrant once again to continue to take care of our people.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: We're excited to be out here, and I think we're doing great work to support the command. We are an extension of the command staff out here in Colorado to make sure that we're taking good care of our people through Lt. Gen. Garrant’s Organize, Train and Equip strategy. We’re focused on making sure that the mission continues on seamlessly and that everybody has the resources they need.