Chairman Wicker Leads SASC Hearing to Consider Chief of Space Operations Nominee

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today led a hearing to consider the nomination of the next Chief of Space Operations.

Lieutenant General Douglas A. Schiess, USSF, nominated to be General and Chief of Space Operations, appeared before the committee.

In his opening remarks, Chairman Wicker emphasized the growing importance of space as a warfighting domain and the need to strengthen the U.S. Space Force to meet evolving threats from strategic competitors. The chairman also highlighted the importance of accelerating space acquisition, building a more agile workforce, and ensuring the Space Force has the resources and leadership necessary to maintain America's strategic advantage.

Read Chairman Wicker's hearing opening statement as delivered.

The committee meets today to consider the nomination of Lieutenant General Douglas Schiess, who is nominated to be the Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force.

This hearing comes at a pivotal moment for both our nation's security and the future of the Space Force. If confirmed, General Schiess will become the third Chief of Space Operations. That distinction reflects the relative youth of this service. While the Space Force has already proven its value to the Joint Force, it is still building the institutions, culture, talent pipeline, and operational concepts that will define the service for generations.

The Space Force was established because our nation recognized that superiority in space is essential to maintaining deterrence on Earth. Today, that mission is more important than ever. The next Chief of Space Operations will assume responsibility as two trends converge: First, the strategic environment is becoming more dangerous even as the demands on the service continue to grow.

The United States no longer has the luxury of viewing space as a permissive environment. China and Russia have made clear that they see space as a critical warfighting domain. They continue to invest in capabilities designed to challenge America's military advantage. Beijing and Moscow are developing weapons to disrupt our satellites, degrade our communications, interfere with navigation, and threaten the systems that enable every joint military operation.

So, to meet that challenge, we need two things: increased resources and faster production timelines. On the latter point, I am pleased to see how the Space Force is adopting the FORGED Act's requirements for Portfolio Acquisition Executives. This is a significant opportunity to streamline decision-making, improve accountability, and accelerate the development and fielding of the resilient space capabilities that our warfighters need. We must successfully implement these reforms if the Space Force is to keep pace with rapidly evolving threats and deliver operational advantages at the speed today's strategic environment demands.

All of this will require an agile workforce. Congress enacted the Personnel Management Act, the PMA, to help the Space Force build such a team. The PMA gives the Space Force the flexibility to build and sustain a workforce that can move seamlessly between full-time and part-time service, which can attract specialized talent, and that can adapt as mission requirements evolve.

Congress has an important role to play in ensuring that the Space Force has the resources, authorities, and leadership necessary to meet those challenges. We also have a responsibility to help the American people understand why the Space Force exists and why its mission matters. Space capabilities underpin our national security, our economy, and our way of life. Space technology enables the systems we use for missile warning, precision navigation, communications, intelligence collection, and the operations of every military service. As the threat in space grows, public understanding must grow as well. The American people should understand that investments in the Space Force are investments in our security, our prosperity, and our strategic advantage.

One of the defining responsibilities of the next Chief of Space Operations will be ensuring that the Space Force grows at a pace that matches the threat. Our competitors are rapidly expanding their forces and fielding new capabilities. The United States cannot afford to respond with incremental growth while the threat accelerates. So, I look forward to hearing how General Schiess will expand the Space Force to meet increasing mission requirements.

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