3 questions with Chief Master Sgt. John Bentivegna of the US Space Force

When most people walk into a room and flip a switch, they expect lights to come on without giving much thought to where that electricity is coming from, said U.S. Space Force Chief Master Sgt. John Bentivegna.

The same is true for the countless everyday conveniences that rely on space-based technology.

“Everything from the GPS constellation to the finance industry, the transportation industry, the agricultural industry, those of us who have dish networks so we can watch the NFL and all the things — those are all space-related capabilities, and you just assume they’re always going to be there,” said Bentivegna, who visited Kirtland Air Force Base this week.

Established in 2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term, the Space Force’s purpose is to organize, train and equip forces protecting U.S. interests in space. The newest — and now sixth — branch of the U.S. Armed Forces has six different bases throughout Florida, Colorado and California, according to its website.

In New Mexico, the military branch also has a presence at KAFB with its Space Rapid Capabilities Office, which develops and delivers “operationally dominant space capabilities at the speed of warfighting relevance,” according to the Kirtland website.

Bentivegna, who assumed the role in 2023, wants people to understand that “space is closer than you think.”

“Space actually starts just 62 miles above us. When you think about how far you drive to go to a restaurant or visit a friend, you may be going 62 miles or more,” he said.

What do Space Force operations look like right now in New Mexico?

I have been wearing a uniform for over 31 years, and this is actually my first opportunity to visit Kirtland and visit the space entities, specifically, that are doing amazing work down here. It’s actually been an exciting few days for me to finally get a chance in-person to meet the men and women that are doing some of the amazing experimentation, innovation and research and development that’s here.

So, primarily from the Space Force service perspective, what’s here is Space Systems Command and the Air Force Research Lab, both entities that work on research development, acquisition. (That) is a lot of the work that’s being done here for the Space Force. What are the capabilities and technologies that we’re going to need tomorrow and into the future? It’s the men and women here who are helping make that a reality.

Do you see New Mexico’s role in Space Force operations developing further?

I think there’s already discussions about a few more organizations that are either not established yet, that will be established here in Kirtland, in New Mexico, or we are moving some organizations possibly to New Mexico to consolidate where the brain trust is.

This is the mecca, if you will, for some of the brighter minds to work on what the service will look like in the future, so we’re trying to take advantage of the community that’s here (in) New Mexico. I do anticipate additional opportunities for guardians (the name for Space Force service members), mission sets to move here.

The Space Force today, at the end of the fiscal year, when you take into account our military and civilians — we’re only about 16,000 strong, so we’re still a relatively very small service. When we talk about moving organizations from one base to another or standing up a new unit, sometimes we’re talking numbers in the dozens, maybe 100. Unlike some of the other services, (where) it could be in numbers of the thousands.

Can you explain what the ‘space corridor’ is?

I’ll be honest, that’s the first time I’ve heard that term. But I will say, when you think about space from a war-fighting perspective, and as a war fighter myself, I do spend a lot of time focused on the joint fight and our ability to secure the domain, protect and defend what we have here. When you think about the economic impact that space brings to the United States, like space tourism, space cargo, the amount of money that we benefit, and the quality of life that space brings to us, having a robust space infrastructure, space industry within the United States outside the Department of Defense is very valuable.

If there is a space corridor, especially when you start talking about more commercial and exploration, that excites me. I think there’s unlimited opportunity and potential to get there. Our role as guardians is just to ensure that there’s freedom of access, so that if investors want to explore, they have the ability to do that with no one standing in their way.