BUCKLEY SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- During a historical U.S. Space Force ceremony, the 460th Mission Support Group was inactivated and the installation host, Buckley Garrison, was redesignated as Space Base Delta 2 at the Leadership Development Center on Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado, May 23, 2022.
Col. Marcus Jackson, SBD 2 commander, presided over the ceremony.
"Although the 460th MSG will be inactivated, the mission, heritage, and professionalism of the squadrons within the 460th MSG will remain and continue to contribute to the growth and success of Buckley Space Force Base," remarked Jackson.
For nearly two decades, the MSG personnel were responsible for force protection, quality of life, human resources, contracting, logistics, base infrastructure and environmental stewardship support to Buckley Garrison and personnel throughout the front range area.
“It has been an honor to be the commander for the 460th Mission Support Group here at Buckley, and it is truly an honor to be its last,” stated Col. Brian Chellgren, SBD 2 vice commander. “As we inactivate the 460th Mission Support Group, it’s important to remember that while the MSG is going away, the work that the MSG squadrons do every day does not.
“Thank you to each of the squadrons […] for the things you do every day behind the scenes ensuring we can execute all the missions on this base,” added Chellgren.
On July 24, 2020, in response to the Chief of Space Operations directive and posture to align with the new direction of the United States Space Force, the 460th Space Wing was redesignated as Buckley Garrison. This was a temporary and transitive nomenclature over the past two years to help change its previous Air Force wing to a Space Force entity.
“Since the United States Space Force was established, we have been asked to evolve and adapt to perpetual change,” said Jackson. “We have been challenged by the CSO to be bold and to think differently. The Space Force is building an independent service with its own unique culture with a focus on excellence in the space domain.”
Once the garrison was in place, it parted ways organizationally and in hierarchy with the 460th Operations Group, which then combined with elements of the former 21st Operations Group down at Peterson, forming Space Delta 4, the missile warning delta.
The mission immediately switched its focus to supporting Space Delta 4 to ensure their no-fail missile warning mission went unabated, which contributed to DEL 4 detecting over 2,000 infrared events in 2021 alone. To that end, it absorbed several geographically separated units to support, bringing the garrison to a total of 14 locations worldwide it is tasked to support.
The reorganization and redesignation to SBD 2 provides a flatter organizational structure with subordinate squadrons reporting directly to the SBD 2 commander. All units under B GAR will retain their current names and operations under SBD 2. This new standard structure is consistent with USSF philosophy and the CSO’s direction.
“By renaming Buckley Garrison to Space Base Delta 2 there is a clear message being sent to our adversaries: We are focused on maintaining space dominance!” stated Jackson. “However, today is much more substantial than a name change. We are transitioning together into forming a new and proud heritage.”
Semper Supra!