The recent Air and Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colorado, was far from the usual standing-room affair it had been in previous years. Attendees didn’t have to scramble for seats because additional chairs were added, but rather because the number of civilian employees was vastly smaller than in previous years due to the Department of Defense (DoD) curbing all “non-essential travel.”
As previously reported, the Pentagon announced that civilian personnel were told they could no longer use their Government Travel Charge Cards (GTCCs), while travel has been restricted unless an exemption is received. In addition, civilian employees were directed to use the Defense Travel System (DTS) to cancel or modify their travel plans, and if that wasn’t possible, those travelers were told to contact their Travel Management Company (TMC).
The smaller crowd at the Aurora, CO, event was noteworthy – in part as this year’s theme was “The Threat is Now: Building the Force to Win,” which featured more than 140 senior leaders from the services and industry partners. That symposium is one of just two major professional development conferences for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.
The travel ban also resulted in a smaller-than-usual turnout at the recent Satellite Conference & Exhibition in Washington, D.C. Even with it being within driving distance, many civilians in the DoD workforce didn’t want to break the new rules that were rolled out.
Space Force May Be Forcing the Pentagon’s Hand
The Space Force has since announced that next month’s Space Symposium is still a go, and it was even declared “mission essential” at least for “speakers, moderators, panelists, and other senior leaders with scheduled industry engagements,” according to a March 17 memo from Space Force Staff Director Maj. Gen. Steven Whitney. That memo had been obtained by Breaking Defense last week.
“The 40th Space Symposium is an annual event hosted by the Space Foundation and is a premier space gathering that uniquely attracts the entire breadth of the space community. This includes senior officials from the United States and other countries representing military, civil, intelligence and industry perspectives,” Whitney wrote in the memo. “The Space Symposium is where these space experts share groundbreaking ideas to inform critical space strategies. Additionally, the Space Symposium provides a unique forum to build partnerships to secure the future of space warfighters with our allied partners.”
The nonprofit Space Foundation, which organizes and hosts the annual event, also announced it would provide free tickets to Space Force Guardians. Local service personnel will still have to pay the commuting costs to the resort where the event is held, however.
It is already expected that many junior-level employees won’t be in attendance, but the Space Force has indicated it is one that senior leadership should attend.
“This year, like every other year, Symposium is going to be the premiere event in the space community,” the Space Foundation’s Thomas Dorame told Payload last week. “If you have the choice to attend one event, it should be this one because of the high-level leaders in attendance.”
U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman and Gen. Whiting are among the officers currently slated to speak at the Space Symposium. One of the expected topics is likely to be the service’s priorities as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has suggested an 8% funding cut within the DoD for fiscal year 2026 (FY26) and China’s increased space capabilities.
This year’s Space Symposium is reported to have a record number of companies exhibiting, including a new section for startups and emerging firms, so there may be fewer attendees but still plenty to see.
