Space Force will get its own special operations element, SOCOM commander reveals

In recent written testimony before Congress, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) revealed that the military’s newest service was getting its own special operations element. 

Testifying to a panel of the House Armed Services Committee in April, Gen. Bryan Fenton said that SOCOM was partnering with the U.S. Space, Cyber and Strategic Commands “to advance the convergence of SOF, space, and cyber effects,” a collaboration he called “a critical nexus.”

“Advancing this nexus in 2025, USSOCOM established the Space Force Special Operations Command to deliver specialized space personnel and capabilities to our units responsible for campaigning, our [theater special operations commands],” Fenton said. 

The last military service to stand up a military special operations component was the Marine Corps, which activated Marine Corps Special Operations Command in 2006 after extensive internal debate about what it would mean to have a dedicated service component supporting SOCOM. In the following two decades, MARSOC has slowly added more elements highlighting the specialized role of its operators, including a name for members, Raiders, and a uniform insignia akin to the trident sported by Navy SEALs. 

But for Space Force, which was created in 2020 and is by far the smallest of the services with fewer than 10,000 personnel, special operations will look different, officials said. In a statement provided to Sandboxx News, a Space Force spokesperson said the service was standing up service components for all the combatant commands, including U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Central Command, Europe-Africa Command, Space Command, and Korea and Japan.

“These standups are a critical step in normalizing the presentation of space forces and providing clarity of command relationships, roles, and responsibilities in the Joint Force and across all theaters,” the official said.

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“There is no definite timeline associated with the standup of other service components, including the Space Force service component to SOCOM, but the Space Force will continue to identify requirements to meet the growing demands of combatant commanders’ space needs. Currently, there is a Space Force Special Operations Element at MacDill Air Force Base that supports SOCOM,” they added.

An official noted that Space Force had received approval for a special operations component from the Pentagon earlier in 2025. 

Assigning support components to all these major commands aligns with the Space Force 101 strategy and also acknowledges the unique nature of Space Force: Guardians do not deploy to their area of responsibility – that is, space – and their limited range of military operational specialties, which includes satellite operations, cyber and intelligence specialties, and acquisition. 

That means it makes less sense for Guardians to develop special operations-specific job specialties, as the other services have, for example with the Navy SEALs or Army Special Forces.

Guardians, however, are augmenting other special operations units with their technical capabilities. Last year, Air Force Special Operations Command teamed with Space Force’s existing special operations element during the annual Emerald Warrior exercise, drawing on Guardians to deliver “specialized space expertise, space-related intelligence and integration,” according to an Air Force release from the time. 

“The relationship between the USSF and special operations is imperative as we address next-generation challenges related to great power competition,” Maj. Jonathan Green, the Space Force Special Operations Element plans and programs chief, said in a released statement. “We will continue to integrate space capabilities and personnel with special operations to meet joint warfighter needs.”

Feature Image: Members of the 137th Mission Sustainment Team conduct an unexploded ordnance sweep during U.S. Special Operations Command Europe led ATREUS 22-4 at Andøya Space Defense Range, Norway, Nov. 8, 2022. This was the first time the multi-capable Airmen conducted their mission in a setting realistic to the austere environments they will encounter while supporting global SOF operations. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Brigette Waltermire)

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