An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

HomeNewsArticle Display

SpOC Activates Delta 15

SCHRIEVER SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The activation of Space Delta 15 was conducted at Schriever SFB, CO, Friday, 10 March 2023.  During the ceremony, hosted by U.S. Space Force BGen Dennis Bythewood, Commander of the Joint Task Force for Space Defense, USSF Colonel Stephen Lyon was appointed as the unit's first commander. (U.S. Space Force Photo by Dennis Rogers).

SCHRIEVER SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The activation of Space Delta 15 was conducted at Schriever SFB, CO, Friday, March 10, 2023. During the ceremony, hosted by U.S. Space Force Brig. Gen Dennis Bythewood, Commander of the Joint Task Force for Space Defense, USSF Col Stephen Lyon was appointed as the unit's first commander. (U.S. Space Force Photo by Dennis Rogers).

SCHRIEVER SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The activation of Space Delta 15 was conducted at Schriever SFB, CO, Friday, 10 March 2023.  During the ceremony, hosted by U.S. Space Force BGen Dennis Bythewood, Commander of the Joint Task Force for Space Defense, USSF Colonel Stephen Lyon was appointed as the unit's first commander. (U.S. Space Force Photo by Dennis Rogers).

SCHRIEVER SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The activation of Space Delta 15 was conducted at Schriever SFB, CO, Friday, March 10, 2023. During the ceremony, hosted by U.S. Space Force Brig. Gen Dennis Bythewood, Commander of the Joint Task Force for Space Defense, USSF Col Stephen Lyon was appointed as the unit's first commander. (U.S. Space Force Photo by Dennis Rogers).

SCHRIEVER SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The activation of Space Delta 15 was conducted at Schriever SFB, CO, Friday, 10 March 2023.  During the ceremony, hosted by U.S. Space Force BGen Dennis Bythewood, Commander of the Joint Task Force for Space Defense, USSF Colonel Stephen Lyon was appointed as the unit's first commander. (U.S. Space Force Photo by Dennis Rogers).

SCHRIEVER SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The activation of Space Delta 15 was conducted at Schriever SFB, CO, Friday, March 10, 2023. During the ceremony, hosted by U.S. Space Force Brig. Gen Dennis Bythewood, Commander of the Joint Task Force for Space Defense, USSF Col Stephen Lyon was appointed as the unit's first commander. (U.S. Space Force Photo by Dennis Rogers).

Schriever Space Force Base, Colo --

Space Operations Command activated its newest unit, Delta 15, during a ceremony at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, March 10, 2023.  
The U.S. Space Force created Delta 15 to provide service space battle management abilities, mission-ready crew forces, operational training, and simulation to prepare U.S. Space Force forces, and designed joint and allied partners, to prevail in a contested all-domain environment.  

U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen, Stephen N. Whiting, Space Operations Command commander, shared his thoughts on the newest SpOC Delta during his opening remarks. 

“Over the years we have seen modern warfare develop and evolve, now demanding increased use of space power. Like the telephone, space is ubiquitous,” said Whiting. “I’m really excited to be here with you today as we continue to grow and shape the United States Space Force that we need for today and beyond, with the activation of Space Delta 15.”  

The National Space Defense Center predates both U.S. Space Command and USSF. With a service responsibility to organize, train and equip the National Space Defense Center, Headquarters SpOC began constructing Delta 15 in 2020 to grow a service Delta as the core component of the center.

"The biggest objective we want to communicate is our activation does not change the mission of the National Space Defense Center. It remains a national level center, and it's very important to Delta 15 that we preserve that," said U.S. Space Force Maj, Amber DeRiggi, Delta 15 director of staff.  "We are integrating into the National Space Defense Center via the space protect and defend mission, and normalizing command and control of assigned Space Force forces. Bottom line, we are delivering combat-ready space forces to the joint force and tri-center partnership that exists at the NSDC today."     

During the ceremony, U.S. Space Force Col, Stephen Lyon assumed command of Delta 15. The unit is comprised of a command staff and 3 squadrons: the 15th Command and Control Squadron, 15th Intelligence Service Reconnaissance Squadron, and the 15th Cyber Squadron.  At full operational capability, Delta 15 will have 213 military and civilian billets as well as contracting support.  

“The Space Force has to create Delta 15 and its squadrons while also building the Services, mission deltas, and their associated squadrons. The service must ensure we resource the entity of the protect and defend enterprise to ensure we can accomplish our unique mission set,” said Lyon.     

The significance of the delta number can be credited to special historical research to ensure heritage and lineage accuracy.   
“Deltas 5, 15, and 25 are currently the C2 Deltas for the Space Force. We are maintaining the ‘5’ nomenclature for Delta numbering associated with command-and-control Deltas, which are unique from Mission Deltas, and the deltas under Space Training and Readiness Command,” said Lyon.     

Lyon, currently the National Space Defense Center director and Joint Task Force – Space Defense, becomes triple-hatted as he assumes command of Delta 15.   

“I am eager to see the successes that will come from this activation and the Deltas ongoing collaboration with the National Reconnaissance Office and joint partners,” Whiting said.   

Space Operations Command is the fight-tonight force and first Field Command of the U.S. Space Force. SpOC's mission is to protect America and our Allies in, from, and to space… now and into the future.

USAF Comments Policy
If you wish to comment, use the text box below. AF reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The AF and the AF alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the AF, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying AF endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

  • This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
  • Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
  • This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

AF does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. AF may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. AF does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the AF or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.