The accompanying audio for this piece is presented by the Air & Space Forces Association, venerating and championing our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Discover more at afa.org
Space Training and Readiness Command formally inaugurated its fresh main office facility in Florida this month, as the operational command begins a serious relocation from Colorado. The entire process is anticipated to conclude by 2027, Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John F. Bentivegna informed legislators on March 25.
Since its inception in 2021, STARCOM has been provisionally based at Petersen Space Force Base, Colo. As one of the Space Force’s three operational commands, it’s charged with instructing and coaching Guardians, formulating the branch’s tenets and methods, and assessing Space Force proficiencies.
Bentivegna informed representatives on the House Appropriations Panel that the command conducted an inaugural ceremony on March 10 at a fresh main office “extension” on Patrick Space Force Base, situated merely several miles from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Space Force’s chief launching installations on the East Coast.
“That was merely the initial stage; in May, the subsequent stage of the extension will become operational,” Bentivegna stated, further mentioning that it would augment the number of STARCOM personnel at Patrick.
The Department of the Air Force chose Patrick to be STARCOM’s fresh base in 2023. The Florida installation location prevailed over five other bases for the STARCOM main office—Buckley, Peterson, and Schriever Space Forces Bases in Colorado; and Vandenberg Space Force Base and Los Angeles Air Force Base in California.
The command commenced its relocation in July 2025, with Maj. Gen. James E. Smith assuming leadership of STARCOM. Hitherto, the main office personnel have been few and dispersed across Patrick. The fresh headquarters facility prepares the ground for the transfer to gain momentum.
“This stands as an emblem of progress with our occupancy,” Smith, stated in a public announcement. “We now possess a dwelling we can consider our own. It’s going to empower us to persist in pursuing our objective.”
Bentivegna mentioned that “they anticipate having hundreds of additional individuals present this summer, with the entire relocation from Colorado carried out and finalized by the end of 2027.”
STARCOM is implementing a “staged methodology” for the relocation to collaborate with the nearby populace around Patrick to evaluate “the state of child care; the condition of residential arrangements,” Bentivegna stated.
The obsolescent facilities on Patrick will also need to be updated, he added.
“When you observe Patrick and Cape Canaveral, the structures may be aged, but the vistas are breathtaking,” Bentivegna quipped, then affirmed to legislators that the service will enhance the infrastructure “to ensure there are sanitary, secure, and salutary environments, and that [Guardian’s] standard of living and caliber of duty is such that we can preserve skilled personnel.”
Bentivegna indicated in February that the Space Force must more than twice its current complement, highlighting that the branch had already exceeded its enlistment targets for the financial year 2026 by achieving 125 percent of its aim.
“I believe we are roughly 10,500 Guardians at present, so when I speak of doubling the magnitude, it will amount to approximately 24,000 within the ensuing five to seven years,” he informed panel constituents. Bentivegna further stated that STARCOM’s presence on the East Coast would be crucial for expanding the military contingent.
“The recruitment of those skilled individuals joining the branch, the specialized instruction, the advanced armed forces schooling—all of those duties will fall under the purview of Space Training and Readiness Command, which is based in that region.”
The accompanying audio for this piece is presented by the Air & Space Forces Association, venerating and championing our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Discover more at afa.org