The United States Space Force announced earlier this year that, even as it had been its recruiting goals, it has sought to double in size. That isn’t quite the tall order that it may seem to be, as the sixth and newest branch of the United States Armed Forces is also the smallest. As of 2026, it has roughly 14,000 active-duty personnel, known as “guardians,” and approximately 4,000 civilian employees, or civilian guardians, which make up roughly a third of its total personnel.
The U.S. Space Force is also unique in that another third are officers, and a third of the force are enlisted guardians.
The service is now looking to increase its ranks of civilians, even as it experienced a 14% reduction in its civilian workforce due to Pentagon budget cuts.
STARCOM Seeks a “Hiring Surge”
On Monday, the U.S. Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM), announced that it would seek to expand its civilian workforce with “a hiring surge,” as it looks to fill more than 400 positions across the country, to support its role as the Space Force’s field command for accessions, training, testing, wargaming, and education.
It also serves to train every guardian and ensure they’re prepared to operate in what the U.S. military sees as the increasingly contested space domain.
“STARCOM exists to forge the world’s most combat-credible space force, and that mission depends on the strength of our total workforce,” said Maj. Gen. James E. Smith, STARCOM commander. “These new teammates will be vital to helping us expand the pipelines. We’re looking for talented civilians who are ready to join us in developing Guardians and validating systems that will secure our nation’s interests in, from, and to space.”
Even as STARCOM is moving its headquarters from Peterson Space Force Base (SFP) to Patrick SFB, FL, it announced that positions are available at several locations:
- Patrick SFB, Florida
- Schriever SFB, Colorado
- Vandenberg SFB, California
- Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
There are also additional geographically separated units supporting STARCOM missions.
New HQ
The new annex for STARCOM opened at Patrick SFB in March 2026, and current plans call for at least a few hundred personnel to be moved to the next facility in the coming months, with the transition to the Space Coast to be completed by 2027. It aligns with the command’s expansion in the Sunshine State.
“The $28 million facility provides workspace for more than 210 personnel, with additional capacity to support continued hiring and the relocation of personnel from Colorado,” the STARCOM explained.
Patrick SFB originally operated from 1940 to 1947 as Naval Air Station Banana River, before later being renamed in honor of Major General Mason Patrick, United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). It is also home to Space Launch Delta 45 (SLD-45), which operates the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) and the Eastern Range.
Career Days
STARCOM further announced that it will host a career fair on April 21 at The Tides Club at Patrick SFB, where attendees can meet with hiring officials, learn about current opportunities, and explore how their skills align with Space Force missions.
Additional career fairs are being scheduled in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Vandenberg SFB in May. The service stated that available opportunities span a range of mission-critical and technical functions, including:
- Aerospace and systems engineering
- Cybersecurity and network operations
- Intelligence analysis and space domain awareness
- Test and evaluation analysis
- Modeling, simulation, and wargaming
- Data science and operations research
- Acquisition and program management
More Growth At Space Force
In addition to increasing its personnel size, the U.S. Space Force is expected to see an increased budget. As previously reported, the sixth branch of the U.S. military could receive $71 billion as part of the $1.5 trillion that the White House has requested for the Pentagon’s fiscal year 2027 (FY27) budget. That would be a significant increase from the $40 billion in FY26, which ends on September 30.
Officials at the U.S. Space Force had called for additional funding to support the service’s growth and to effectively address emerging national security threats in cyberspace and outer space.
