Braxton Taylor
AURORA, Colorado — The Space Force is planning to set up its own recruiting squadron and is even training its own Guardian recruiters to help pull more Americans into the service.
A lieutenant colonel has been appointed to command the new squadron, to be based out of San Antonio, Texas, Brig. Gen. Christopher Amrhein, commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service, which also oversees the Space Force, told reporters at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Warfare Symposium in Colorado on Tuesday.
“We are building out a Space Force recruiting element. It is on track to be a Space Force recruiting squadron to include the Guardian recruiters, to go do Guardian recruiting,” Amrhein told reporters. “That’s another positive step … to meet the requirements that we need to bring in for the Air Force and the Space Force.”
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Joe Gangemi, a spokesperson for the Air Force Recruiting Service, told Military.com that there are nine Guardians who have graduated from the recruiting school and are receiving additional training.
While other services have struggled with recruiting in recent years, the Space Force — the youngest and smallest of all the uniformed services — has not. Last year, it surpassed its goals and signed 71 Guardians, per data provided to Military.com by the recruiting service.
This year, the Department of the Air Force has a more ambitious requirement of 954 Guardians.
Amrhein said recruiting Guardians is not an issue and, historically, the service has been in the position of turning some potential Guardians away due to the small size of the branch. But the recruiting commander sees potential strengths to innovating more Guardian-focused outreach efforts.
“I will say that interest and high-quality interest of recruitment into the Space Force is not lacking,” Amrhein said. “But do we have all the recruiting ingredients? What other opportunities are there? I think having that centralized squadron will [benefit] that.”
Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John Bentivegna, the top enlisted leader of the service, told Military.com in an interview Tuesday that he has tasked the new recruiters with learning how highly skilled and highly talented organizations recruit talent.
“I’ve been using the phrase ‘scouting talent,'” he said. “I call this something different because I want them to think about it differently.”
Bentivegna said he also wants recruiters not just to seek candidates with good grades, he also wants to find people of good character.
“I don’t want anyone dissuaded or disenfranchised when you think about the Space Force, that you have to have this huge background and academics,” Bentivegna said. “This is hard business, and we need men and women of character and grit. We’ve been getting them and they’ve been doing it, but how do we, what’s our process, to make sure we can continue the success that we’ve had and take advantage of our small size?”
The news that the Space Force will start setting up its own recruiting efforts comes after the service has sought more public recognition for its mission.
Last month, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman and Bentivegna met with recruits at the NASCAR Daytona 500 race, a high-profile recruiting event.
“Not everyone is willing to do what you’re about to do,” Saltzman told enlistees and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets before the race, according to a Space Force news release. “Thank you for taking on this tremendous challenge. Your nation is counting on you, and I know you’re going to do all the right things.”
The Space Force has also looked to Hollywood to help grow recognition of the service, Military.com previously reported. In July, Bentivegna was at the Fox Studio Lot in California, where he met with about 20 film executives and directors.
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