PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Space Delta 12, the U.S. Space Force’s Test and Evaluation delta, held a squadron activation and redesignation recognition ceremony Aug. 27, 2021, at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado.
Delta 12 is part of the newest U.S. Space Force field command, Space Training and Readiness Command, and was activated Aug. 23, 2021, at Peterson SFB.
During the ceremony, Col. Peter Flores, Delta 12’s inaugural commander, activated and redesignated its five squadrons.
Flores is the former director of Space and Cyber Operations, Combined Force Space Component Command/Fourteenth Air Force at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, and more recently the commander of Space Training and Readiness Delta (Provisional), at Peterson SFB.
As space capabilities have evolved over the decades, so has the need to have a military service focused on the space domain.
The Delta 12 mission is to prepare USSF Guardians to prevail in a contested, degraded, and operationally limited environment through the independent test and evaluation of Space Force capabilities, and delivery of timely, accurate, and expert information in support of weapon system acquisition, operational acceptance, and readiness decisions.
The delta currently comprises more than 300 Guardians and Airmen at five different squadrons, including the 1st Test and Evaluation Squadron responsible for independent testing of USSF operational-level command and control technologies; 3rd TES responsible for independent testing of USSF orbital warfare technologies; 4th TES responsible for independent testing of USSF electromagnetic spectrum technologies; 17th TES which is responsible for independent testing of USSF missile warning and space domain awareness technologies; and the 12th Delta Operations Squadron which provides the crucial support structure through which the delta commander executes assigned missions.
Space Delta 12 and its squadrons are temporarily housed at Schriever and Peterson SFB until the Department of the Air Force’s Strategic Basing Process is completed and approved by the Secretary of the Air Force.