On March11th, Sgt Caleb Sturm of the 23rd Space Operations Squadron, Space Delta 6, New Boston, NH, addressed the Rotary Club of Nashua regarding, the 23rd Space Operations Squadron history and mission. Sgt Sturm is responsible for conducting government oversight of the SCN mission, providing warfighters and strategic users uninterrupted worldwide wideband military satellite communications.
Sgt Sturm joined the Army in June of 2015. Throughout his career, he was assigned to units in 5 separate locations, requiring drastically different skill sets to meet the mission. Sgt Sturm transferred to the Space Force in September 2022.
He stated the need for such a branch relating back to the Chinese exploration before the time of Columbus. They stopped exploring and that slowed progress. In order to stay current, we need to continue striving and exploring the world.
Space Force is the newest branch of the Department of Defense. A quick breakdown of the New Boston Space Force Station, it is located in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. It was transferred from the U.S. Air Force to the U.S. Space Force in the summer of 2020. It was originally established in 1942 as a practice area for bombers and fighter planes from nearby Grenier Army Air Field (now Manchester–Boston Regional Airport). According to Sgt Sturm there are a couple airplanes crashes on the site. Starting in 1959, it was turned into a satellite-tracking station, providing the facilities most prominent feature, the weatherproof radomes which dot the hillside.
New Boston SFS is operated by the 23rd Space Operations Squadron, a geographically-separated unit of Space Delta 6, part of Space Base Delta 1 at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. Delta 6 provides assured access to space through the $11.2 billion Satellite Control Network and defensive cyberspace capabilities for space mission systems. There are several groups within the branch, Deltas 1, 2, 3,4, 6, 7, 8 and 9. Each with their own assignment and duties.
The basic premise behind the new branch is an effort to provide combat ready secure communications all the time. There are several components of the branch and the threats facing them, such as Electromagnetic Warfare, Space Domain Awareness, Orbital Threats, Cyber Espionage, Directed Energy Weapons.
Sgt. Sturm ended the presentation by taking a few questions for the gathered group.