‘We’re Just Treading Water’: Space Force Seeks Money, Personnel to Do Its Job

Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, says the department needs to increase its funding and workforce as it takes on greater responsibilities.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 02:58 PM ET

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Jack Daleo

U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman delivers remarks at the Air and Space Forces Association Warfighter Symposium in Aurora, Colorado, on March 3. [Courtesy: U.S. Space Force/Emmeline James]

Key Takeaways:

General Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, warns that the U.S. Space Force is "just treading water" and shrinking in resources (budget and personnel) despite space becoming a critical warfighting domain.
Saltzman emphasizes the growing threat from adversaries rapidly developing counter-space capabilities, while other U.S. military branches are increasingly reliant on Space Force assets, making them vulnerable.
Budget cuts, stagnant funding from continuing resolutions, and federal workforce downsizing are hindering the Space Force's ability to develop crucial offensive and defensive capabilities, jeopardizing national security and the effectiveness of other military services.

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General Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, is warning that the department is “just treading water” at a time when space is becoming a “warfighting domain.”

During an interview Wednesday, Saltzman told Lieutenant General David Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, that the Space Force needs more money and personnel to enable new offensive and defensive capabilities. He called American space superiority an imperative.