Space Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of Space Operations Command, participates March 7, 2023, in a panel discussion at the Air and Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colo. (Dave Grim/U.S. Space Force)
WASHINGTON — Space Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting was nominated Tuesday by President Joe Biden to become the next leader of U.S. Space Command, replacing Army Gen. James Dickinson.
Along with Whiting, who now leads Space Operation Command, two other Space Force leaders were recommended for promotions by Biden, who submitted the nominations to the Senate.
If Whiting gets the new job, it will come with a promotion to the rank of general, and he will receive a fourth star.
Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein also has been nominated for the rank of general and a fourth star. Guetlein, commander of the Space Systems Command, is expected to become the next vice chief of operations of Space Force, replacing Space Force Gen. David “DT” Thompson.
The White House also submitted the nomination of Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs and requirements, who will remain at the same rank but is expected to replace Guetlein as the commander of the Space Systems Command, which is based in Los Angeles.
If the nominees make it through the Senate Armed Services Committee’s confirmation process, it remains a challenge for them to be approved by the full chamber. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who is a member of the committee, continues to block the Senate from making standard voice votes to approve military promotions over his objection to a Pentagon policy that provides travel money to troops for reproductive health care, including abortions. The nominees can be confirmed by the Senate one by one in a process that would consume months of the upper chamber’s floor time.
There were 265 senior military officers whose promotions have been held up by Tuberville as of Friday, and the number could grow to 650 by the end of the year if the issue isn't resolved, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Monday.
Space Force is the newest military branch, established in December 2019. The service is charged with organizing, training and equipping service members to undertake military space missions.
Space Command is the Pentagon's newest unified combatant command that provides command and control for all U.S. military's space operations across all its service branches.
Redstone Arsenal, an Army base in Huntsville, Ala., was selected in 2021 as the new headquarters for Space Command, which is now at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. However, a final decision about moving the command to Alabama has not been made.
