The U.S. Space Force is preparing a major expansion, with plans to add 10,000 guardians during the next five years and double the size of its uniformed ranks. The ambitious growth target places immediate pressure on the service’s training system.
The plan depends on recruiting more than 200 guardians and civilian specialists for instructor positions before the student population surges.
Space Training and Readiness Commander Maj. Gen. James E. Smith outlined that requirement Tuesday while speaking with reporters at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2026 Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
“We understand the requirements behind right-sizing the Space Force, and we are fully postured to meet those goals for FY27,” Smith said.
“Adding 10,000 Guardians over the next five years represents our target, with a significant portion of that growth occurring in the first year,” he continued.
“Predictable budget resources will remain vital as we scale operations to maintain our FY27 momentum.”
As of 2024, the service employed more than 14,000 civilian and military personnel, including roughly 9,400 guardians serving on active duty. The planned addition of 10,000 guardians would represent a sweeping increase from that reported baseline.
The 200 instructor jobs span officer and enlisted basic training, commissioning pipelines, initial skills training and professional military education, according to a STARCOM release.
Personnel would be posted to Air Force ROTC detachments nationwide, Officer Training School, the Air Force Academy, three enlisted initial skills training sites and enlisted professional military education courses.
STARCOM intends to bring the new personnel aboard quickly and qualify them to manage the expected student load. The release said the effort would prepare the command to handle the incoming number of students.
In fiscal 2027, STARCOM plans to expand its Basic Military Training channel by more than 90%, creating room for 1,400 recruits at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Initial skills courses are also expected to expand in step with the larger student population.
Enlisted professional military education is set to grow by nearly 120%, allowing the service to train more than 1,300 students each year.
Officer Training School will “scale its pipeline” by nearly 600% to prepare around 850 officer trainees, according to the statement.
Air Force ROTC expects commissions to jump 100% to around 200 guardians next year. That projection represents another substantial expansion within the service’s officer commissioning pipeline.
Following commissioning, new officers enter OTC at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Enrollment there is projected to rise 275% to more than 1,350 officers in fiscal 2027.
Officer professional military education is also slated to absorb an additional 1,600 students eventually, a 330% increase.
Space Force Spc. Roberto Santiago-Irizarry, left, and 2nd Lt. Yoon Jung Lee monitor Space Domain Awareness information on the 18 SDS operations floor at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Oct. 4, 2024.
The STARCOM figures cover growth across basic training, commissioning, initial skills instruction and professional military education.
“While we currently have a great partnership with the U.S. Air Force for many of our development courses,” Smith said, “ultimately, Guardians require space-minded education and rigorous, domain-specific training to ensure combat credibility, integrate seamlessly with the joint force and protect national interests.”
The personnel push arrives alongside a separate White House announcement from late August concerning space education.
The White House plans to establish a Space Force Academy under NASA leadership to expand education opportunities as the nation continues to recognize space as a “critical domain.”
Chief of Space Operations Gen. Douglas Schiess said during a Tuesday media roundtable at the AFA conference that the Space Force is working with NASA to support development of the academy. The service will continue graduating 100 guardians annually from the Air Force Academy.
“I think we’re at the very beginning stages, and so I think anybody that’s space-minded and is going to have that background that can then get a job in the Space Force as a civilian, that’s great,” Schiess told reporters.
