Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, standing onstage in front of four flags, speaks to Airmen and Guardians on a visit to Vandenberg Space Force Base. (Courtesy photo)
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall speaks to Airmen and Guardians on a recent visit to Vandenberg Space Force Base, one of two high-capacity spaceports in the U.S. (Courtesy photo)

U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall visited Guardians and Airmen at Vandenberg Space Force Base, May 22. During his visit, Vandenberg Guardians and Airmen shared operational details on how they support resilient space activities at the U.S. Space Force’s West Coast Spaceport and Test range.

Kendall’s visit targeted modernization and strategic fiscal goals, with a specific focus on reoptimization to effectively address the challenges posed by Great Power Competition.

“We need space resiliency, the ability to have assets in space, as both Russia and China have built and are building a wide array of weapons to attack our satellites,” Kendall said. “Space Force has resilient space capabilities, and our team provides the space portion of the joint force support.”

Vandenberg is one of two high-capacity spaceports in the United States, providing strategic space access capabilities that deliver on-orbit systems for global space operations.

“We have a critical role at Vandenberg and in Space Launch Delta 30 in meeting the challenges of Great Power Competition,” said Col. Mark Shoemaker, SLD 30 commander.

“Secretary Kendall’s visit is timely, as we increase agility and capacity to evolve in response to the dynamic strategic environment,” Shoemaker said.

Kendall’s pillars encompass the rapid modernization of Department of the Air Force installations. To delve deeper into these aspects, Shoemaker and Kendall toured the Western Range Operations Control Center, facilitating discussions on the installation’s capacity, agility and resilience.

During the tour, Kendall highlighted the importance of mission-capable service members in the success of the Department of the Air Force’s modernization and reoptimization plan.

“Mission-capable Airmen, and Guardians, are people who have great strength, are much better trained, and better motivated people with more initiative than our adversary,” said Kendall.

“This is much more about active leadership, and inspiring capable people is a big part of preparation to meet the Great Power Competition,” he said.

Kendall also visited Space Forces-Space during his visit at Vandenberg SFB and students from the 533rd Training Squadron and 532nd Training Squadron.