20th SCS part of Space Command

EGLIN AFB, Fla. - Just before Christmas, as President Donald Trump signed the FY 2020 defense authorization act, nearly 250 airmen and civilians with the Eglin Air Force Base-HQ'd 20th Space Control Squadron became part of the U.S. Space Force, the sixth branch of the U.S. military. The squadron, which operates 24/7, is part of the 21st Space Wing, HQ’d at Peterson AFB, Colo. The 21st SW is one of five space-oriented AF wings now part of the Space Force. The 20th SCS uses a global network of radar and deep-space sensor installations “to find, fix, track and target man-made objects in Earth’s orbit,” according to the AF. As far as the 21st Space Wing is concerned, “the stand-up of the United States Space Force will produce no immediate changes to our mission,” the wing’s public affairs office noted in an e-mail response to questions about the future of the wing and the squadron. “(T)he creation of the U.S. Space Force … will result in organizational structure changes expected” at Peterson (AFB) and the 20th SCS, although the primary mission of the wing and squadron “will remain the same,” the Walton Sun reported. (Source: Walton Sun 01/07/20)