Sunday, 23 August 2020_The general officer who was simultaneously leading the new Space Force military branch and a combatant command overseeing operations beyond Earth is no longer serving in both roles.
Army Gen. James Dickinson became the head of US Space Command on Thursday, replacing Air Force Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond. It marked an important milestone for military space operations, which leaders stress is an increasingly important -- and contested -- war fighting domain.
Now, US Space Command and Space Force each have their own individual leaders. The two entities, which have complementary but differing missions, now each have a four-star overseeing them.
"This is a big deal," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Army Gen. Mark Milley said at the ceremony. He and Defense Secretary Mark Esper oversaw Thursday's change of command.
Space Command was resurrected last year after a near-two decade hiatus. Like other military combatant commands -- such as US Central Command, which oversees missions in the Middle East, or Indo-Pacific Command in Asia -- Space Command also directs operations in a specific region. That region happens to be outer space.
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