TYNDALL AFB, Fla. (AFNS) —  

The Department of Defense designated First Air Force as ‘Air Forces Space’ (AFSPACE), and the fifth service component to U.S. Space Command May 3.

The change postures First Air Force to provide airpower expertise and advocacy in support of USSPACECOM’s mission to conduct operations in, from and to space while integrating space power into the support of First Air Force’s homeland defense mission.

“As USSPACECOM continues to achieve key milestones towards reaching Full Operational Capability, the designation of AFSPACE and the realignment of Human Space Flight Support activities under AFSPACE demonstrates the rapid pace at which the command and components are moving to provide a safe and secure space environment,” said U.S. Army Gen. James H. Dickinson, U.S. Space Command commander. “AFSPACE has achieved an Initial Operating Capability, and like USSPACECOM, is at a point where it can credibly claim to be organized and effective for employing our enduring, no-fail supporting functions to the joint force and civil partners.”

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. named First Air Force as the USSPACECOM air component in February 2021. Following that, Gen. Mark Kelly, commander of Air Combat Command, established an Operational Planning Team to determine the resources required to meet the short and long-term demands for this new mission.

ACC is the force provider for AFSPACE, and existing Continental U.S. NORAD Region and Air Forces Northern roles, responsibilities and authorities.

On July 15, 2021, First Air Force, now AFSPACE, assumed the operational command and control of the Human Space Flight Support, or HSFS, mission, which was previously executed by the Combined Force Space Component Command at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This First Air Force mission is executed through its assigned Detachment 3 based at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida.

Det. 3, formerly commanded by Space Launch Delta 45, realigned under First Air Force during a redesignation and change of command ceremony held at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, also that day. Air Force Lt. Gen. Kirk Pierce, commander, First Air Force, Continental U.S. NORAD Region, AFNORTH, and now AFSPACE, affirmed his team’s commitment to USSPACECOM.

“Space-based capabilities enable virtually every element of our national power, including diplomatic, information, military and economic,” said Pierce. “It’s an honor to support that larger picture with our actions at a personal level. This includes our new responsibility to plan, train and execute worldwide rescue and recovery of NASA astronauts during contingency operations.”

Human Space Flight Support operations are conducted by the Department of Defense when requested by NASA, and validated by the DoD. These operations include the contingency search and rescue of NASA and NASA-sponsored astronauts.

For all crewed space flights, Det. 3 oversees the training and posturing of rescue forces on alert at Patrick Space Force Base, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Additionally, Det. 3 is responsible for coordinating astronaut rescue and recovery, contingency landing site support, payload security, medical support, coordination of airlift/sealift for contingency operations, as well as other support services required in the event of a spacecraft emergency.

Det. 3 has a long and distinguished history working closely with NASA to plan and coordinate DoD rescue, recovery, and retrieval support for their crewed space missions.

“It’s immensely satisfying to take another step forward in the larger leap in our role as the Air Force component to U.S. Space Command,” Pierce said. “The First Air Force team appreciates being a valued joint partner in the defense of the Homeland in the air and space domains.”

CONR-1 AF (AFNORTH and AFSPACE) Public Affairs

PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. —

Russia tested a direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) missile on Nov. 15, 2021, Moscow Standard Time, that struck a Russian satellite [COSMOS 1408] and created a debris field in low-Earth orbit. The test so far has generated more than 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris and will likely generate hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris.

“Russia has demonstrated a deliberate disregard for the security, safety, stability, and long-term sustainability of the space domain for all nations,” said U.S. Army Gen. James Dickinson, U.S. Space Command commander. “The debris created by Russia’s DA-ASAT will continue to pose a threat to activities in outer space for years to come, putting satellites and space missions at risk, as well as forcing more collision avoidance maneuvers. Space activities underpin our way of life and this kind of behavior is simply irresponsible.”

USSPACECOM’s initial assessment is that the debris will remain in orbit for years and potentially for decades, posing a significant risk to the crew on the International Space Station and other human spaceflight activities, as well as multiple countries’ satellites. USSPACECOM continues to monitor the trajectory of the debris and will work to ensure all space-faring nations have the information necessary to safeguard their on-orbit activities if impacted by the debris cloud, a service the United States provides to the world, to include Russia and China.

“Russia is developing and deploying capabilities to actively deny access to and use of  space by the United States and its allies and partners,” Dickinson added. “Russia’s tests of direct-ascent anti-satellite weapons clearly demonstrate that Russia continues to pursue counterspace weapon systems that undermine strategic stability and pose a threat to all nations.”

By US Space Command Public Affairs Office

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) —  

Anyone wondering what the process of joining the Air Force is like, leading up to and through the completion of Basic Military Training, should check out a new docuseries that follows five individuals as they transition from civilians to Airmen.

Titled “Basic,” the eight-part docuseries was released on the Air Force Recruiting official YouTube page Oct. 28.

For Air Force leaders, this is a unique opportunity to show recruits an in-depth look into their upcoming experience.

“From a recruiter’s first meeting with a future Airman or Guardian, their first questions always seem to be about what they can expect at Basic Military Training,” said Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas, Air Force Recruiting Service commander. “Today’s BMT isn’t what mom or dad went through decades ago, and it’s not necessarily what Hollywood portrays. The Air Force is granting access to BMT as it happened for brand-new Airmen. This series aims to shine a light on the reality and professionalism of basic training. We want future Airmen and future Guardians to know what to expect when they make decisions and prepare for this uncommon life.”

“I’m excited to provide this unique look into the journey America’s sons and daughters take as they become Airmen in the world’s greatest Air Force,” said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass. “Their service to our Air Force and nation has never been more important, and seeing our military training instructors in action as they develop these Airmen to fulfill those roles is motivating to say the least.”

Basic was produced and directed by Ken Raimondi, a former Air Force recruiter and current civil service producer and director with the 3rd Audio Visual Squadron. He led a team that grew from four to 17 people to complete the project. Raimondi said he has always wanted to do an in-depth documentary on BMT since he was on active duty.

“I was a recruiter from 2003-2006 and I wished there was something like this then that showed Basic Military Training in great detail from the perspective of the service member,” he said. “It just hasn’t existed up until the release of this project, in this amount of depth.”

Raimondi said the series shows all the emotions recruits go through during the process and gives viewers an inside look at BMT.

“It shows their nervous thoughts at home before they leave, the shock of the first weeks, the highs and lows, successes and failures, and everything in-between,” Raimondi said. “The eight-part series opens the doors to BMT in a way you’ve never experienced. Imagine being a fly on the wall throughout BMT and once a week, getting the chance to hear directly from the subjects, away from anyone else, including their military training instructors, to hear exactly what they think and feel.”

The project was initially brought to Raimondi in 2019 by the superintendent of BMT at the time, Chief Master Sgt. Lee Hoover.

“They wanted an in-depth look at the BMT experience,” Raimondi recalls. “After an initial discussion, we agreed to bring Air Force Recruiting Service on board as they have the highest traffic for the target audience we knew we wanted to go for.”

Rather than just tell the story of BMT and some of the changes in recent years, Raimondi had other ideas on how to tell this story.

“I pitched the idea to not just tell the world how BMT has changed, but let’s show it through the lives of five civilians as they make that transition to Airman,” he said. “The great thing about BMT is that the drama is built in from the start. It’s a captivating story that thousands of people experience every week here and taking just five of those stories and letting them tell it as they experience it accomplished multiple goals. It’s entertaining to watch, authentic, and informs our audience organically of what modern-day BMT is like.”

When BMT agreed to take the approach Raimondi pitched, they knew it couldn’t happen without the support of AFRS.

“First of all, recruiters are the face of the Air Force to many of our communities,” Raimondi said. “If recruiters were not involved in this, we would be missing a huge chance to reach our target audience at the very place where they would be asking the questions this series could answer. Beyond that, we also knew it would cost money to send our team of four on the road for five weeks from one hometown to another to cover the pre-Air Force life of our subjects.”

AFRS agreed to help fund the project. Now Raimondi had all the major stakeholders behind his idea and was free to see his vision through to the end. For AFRS, supporting this project was a no-brainer.

“This was an excellent opportunity for Air Force recruiting to provide potential recruits some insight into what that life changing moment of Basic Military Training is like,” said Wes Fleming, chief of plans and programs for AFRS public affairs. “We felt like this story hasn’t been told before, showing the life changing experience of becoming an Airman.”

AFRS did help fund this project, but also played a critical role throughout the making of this docuseries.

“AFRS was involved since pre-production,” Raimondi said. “They helped me narrow down our cast and paid for our travel from place-to-place before we began filming at BMT. Their participation from the start was critical to the success of this. They also helped me coordinate with the recruiters of each person so we can see some of that interaction. In fact, we get to cover a prospective battlefield Airman as he goes through training for the [Physical Ability Stamina Test] used in Special Warfare career fields before he ever leaves for BMT. That access is all due to AFRS.”

Raimondi realizes this is not the kind of product normally produced for AFRS.

“You may expect something shorter, punchier or slicker, and that would be fair,” Raimondi said. “They are vying for the attention of a target audience that has plenty of other things to do and see outside of what the Air Force offers. Speaking as a former recruiter, I know how hard that is. Now this series may not bring more people to the recruiting doors; I don’t know for sure. What I do know is that AFRS wants to make sure that the folks they do send to BMT are well informed and ready to succeed in the Air Force. I am 100% confident this series will do that.”

Raimondi optimistically thinks this series will motivate people to want to join, but at minimum, it gives recruits some understanding of what to expect at BMT.

“The important thing is that now the world has insight into how the Air Force trains civilians to become Airmen,” he said. “With that knowledge out there, prospective recruits and potential Airmen can make an informed decision and be ready to tackle the challenge of their lives.”

Tackling a project of this scope is no easy task for Raimondi and his team.

“I was lucky in the fact that the Navy produced a short format docuseries called ‘Boot Camp: Making a Sailor,’” he said. “I reached out to the producer, Austin Rooney, to hear some things that worked and some things that were challenging ahead of us moving forward. His insight definitely helped me think through some things and he helped me avoid some challenges that they faced in producing theirs. It’s a great series and I’m thankful Austin took the time to share the background with me.”

The one thing he knew he wanted to do differently was to be there every step of the way. From their hometowns to graduation, his small team of four spent seven days a week and upwards of 18 hours a day with them.

“The philosophy being that if we aren’t there to capture what happens, we can’t tell the entire story to the audience,” Raimondi said. “Documentary is all about being there when it happens and we made the sacrifice to do that, including holidays, weekends, evenings, mornings, whatever it took. It was an exhausting endeavor that allowed us to take home more than 20 terabytes of footage. Hundreds of hours of footage cut down to about five hours making up this eight-part series.”

The other thing that was really important to Raimondi was absolute authenticity. He said this isn’t the Air Force’s story or BMT’s story, it’s the story of the five.

“We didn’t conduct traditional interviews outside of the hometown visits,” he said. “The trainee sat in front of what we called a confessional camera, and was allowed to speak freely whatever they thought and felt from the week they experienced. As the editor, it wasn’t the easiest thing to cut as people didn’t just give simple sound bites, but to me that’s where the authenticity lives. It’s messy, real, raw … it’s life. I think modern audiences appreciate projects that have the shine off and show you how it really is. My goal is that the audience wouldn’t feel the hands of the director or editor, but instead be immersed into the story as it unfolds.”

Raimondi and his team felt fortunate to have wrapped up their production on this project January 6, 2020.

“Had COVID(-19) hit us while we were in production we would have had to stop filming and would have lost the whole project,” he said. “Training and safety come first and if the presence of our crew ever got in the way of either, we would have had to stop filming. As I was editing it, isolated in the edit bay during the social-distancing measures, it was weird watching all of these unmasked trainees working in close proximity. At the time it felt like another world. Thankfully, with vaccines picking up steam, I think a return to normal is around the horizon. I know I’m thankful for that.

I’m so proud of this project,” Raimondi said. “I fully expect this will reach a lot of people, and when they get to BMT, they will be ready to experience what’s ahead of them. For the parents and families of those leaving to serve, it will allow them a sneak peek into the BMT experience. For the casual fan of documentaries, they’ll love the drama that unfolds at BMT. Tears, cheers, blood, sweat and even laughter… it’s all there because that is the BMT experience.”

“Basic” will air on the Air Force Recruiting Service’s official YouTube at 8 p.m. EST, with a new episode each Thursday, with the exception of Thanksgiving night, beginning Oct. 28. Viewers can access it here.