Fort Bliss, TX –
On Nov. 7, 2024, Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force (CMSSF) John Bentivegna, the senior enlisted advisor for the United States Space Force visited the NCO Leadership Center of Excellence (NCOLCoE) and Sergeants Major Academy (SGM-A) on Fort Bliss, Texas. During his visit, he spoke with the students of SGM-A Class 75. After his briefing Bentivegna presented Command Sgt. Maj. Tammy Everette, NCOLCoE Commandant, with the official seal of the Space Force to be displayed alongside the other service seals on the academy grounds.
The United States Space Force was established Dec. 20, 2019, as the newest branch of the United States Armed Forces. The role of Space Force is to protect the United States and allied interests in space and to provide space capabilities to the joint force.
The Sergeants Major Academy has educated senior noncommissioned officers for over 50 years, hosting Service Members from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and NCOs from dozens of partner nations.
"Receiving the Space Force Seal from the CMSSF Bentivegna is not just an honor, but a testament to the dedication, resilience, and commitment to excellence that defines the men and women of our military,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Patrick Thomas, Deputy Commandant of the NCOLCoE. “This recognition serves as a reminder that our mission is greater than any individual branch, and it fuels our collective drive to push the boundaries of what is possible in the defense of our nation and the protection of our assets in space."
In 2023, the NCOLCoE saw its first Space Force Guardian, Chief Master Sgt. Shannon Sanchez. Sanchez was the first member of the Space Force to graduate from the SGM-A as a member of Class 73 on June 16, of that year. Sanchez, started her career in the U.S. Army and has served in the U.S. armed forces for more than 25 years.
The Space Force currently has about 10,000 Guardians serving making it the smallest military branch and have a presence on 6 military installations.
The seals contains a globe among constellations of stars representing the domain of space and a craft orbiting the globe along with a delta symbol that has ties to the early days of rocket engineering and space travel, specifically the ‘ideal rocket equation’ developed by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1903.