A service member displays a coin received from Space Force Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond during his visit to Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Feb. 2, 2021. This summer, nearly 250 Air Force reservists will have the opportunity to transfer to the Space Force and become the service’s first part-time guardians. (John Wright/U.S. Air Force)
Nearly 250 Air Force reservists have been selected to transfer to the Space Force this summer, becoming the service’s first part-time guardians.
The group includes officers and enlisted personnel ranging in ranks from second lieutenant to colonel and from staff sergeant to chief master sergeant.
Welcoming Air Force reservists into the Space Force is a move aimed at establishing a unified service of full- and part-time guardians instead of creating distinct active-duty and reserve components.
The move is “an important step in the evolution of our service,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said in a statement last week. “They bring a wealth of experience and expertise to our force.”
In September, the Space Force opened a 38-day window for Air Force reservists in space-related career fields to apply to help fill 800 part-time slots. On Wednesday, the service announced it had selected 247 applicants.
Those accepting their part-time work assignments will begin to transfer into the Space Force this summer, the service said.
They’ll be known as guardians on nonsustained duty and will be required to complete at least 36 days of service each year. Officers must serve at least three years, while enlisted personnel must commit to a minimum of three years and up to six years of service.
The Space Force Personnel Management Act, which was signed into law in December 2023, enabled the service to create a single combined component.
Rather than serve as a career path like the Air Force Reserve, part-time assignments are designed to offer flexibility to guardians whose life circumstances may change, according to Reserve and Space Force senior leaders.
Commanders determine which billets are eligible for part-time service based on mission requirements, and those positions are reviewed annually.
