Lt. Gen. B. Chance “Salty” Saltzman speaks a the GEOINT conference. (Photographs by the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation)
WASHINGTON: Lt. Gen. Chance “Salty” Satlzman, the current Space Force deputy chief of operations, has been nominated by the White House to replace Gen. Jay Raymond as service chief when he retires this fall, the service confirmed today.
Saltzman, who served in a number of space-related posts during his Air Force career before transferring to the Space Force in 2020, may be most widely known as one of the fathers of multi-domain operations — now called all-domain operations and the US military’s official warfighting strategy. He’s also known for his strong communications skills, sporting a quick wit and no little charm.
At Space Force, he has had a finger in many pies: responsible for operations, intelligence, sustainment, cyber and nuclear operations. And perhaps more critically, one source noted, he was one of the first senior Air Force officers to embrace the concept of a separate Space Force at a time when service leadership was fighting against it.
“Salty has the perfect mix of experience and strategic insight to lead the force into the future,” said Doug Loverro, former head of Pentagon space policy and a frequent advisor to the Biden administration.
Satlzman for months had been a “dark horse” candidate for the job, a handful of sources said, with close personal ties to Raymond dating back years.
“[Satlzman’s] extensive space experience and deep understanding of how to integrate space into the defense of our nation have made him indispensable to the establishment of this service and Guardians the world over will not find a more loyal teammate.” Raymond said in the service’s announcement.
The race to replace Raymond, the first-ever chief of the new service, has been a bit of a wild ride, with at least three other candidates moving up and down in the list of recommendations: Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of Space Force’s Space Operations Command; Lt. Gen. John Shaw, deputy commander at SPACECOM; and Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno, Space Force staff director.
Before today’s announcement, Saltzman also had bandied about as potentially taking over Space Command (SPACECOM) next year when current Commander Gen. Jim Dickinson retires.
With Saltzman out of that running, rumors already are flying about both Dickinson’s replacement; as well as who will take over at the vice slot at Space Force (known as “No. 1” in the still popular Star Trek Next Generation TV series) now held by Gen. David “DT” Thompson, who also is expected to retire next year. Current speculation among insiders is that Shaw will simply step up to replace Dickinson, and that Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, head of Space Force’s Space Systems Command, has the early lead in the race to replace Thompson.
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