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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Aug. 6 confirmed Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess as the next chief of space operations, installing a career missile and space officer to lead the Space Force as it prepares for a sharp expansion in funding, personnel and military missions driven by growing competition with China.
Schiess, who has served as the Space Force’s deputy chief of space operations for operations since late 2025, succeeds Gen. Chance Saltzman as the service’s top uniformed officer and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He assumes command as the six-year-old service is seeking a major increase in resources to support new missile warning and tracking satellites, resilient communications networks and other classified space programs.
“It will be the honor of my professional career to lead the Guardians of the United States Space Force,” Schiess told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing last month. “I will work tirelessly to ensure our Guardians are ready, our capabilities are resilient, our partnerships remain strong, and our service is worthy of the trust placed in us by the American people.”
During his confirmation hearing, Schiess argued that the Space Force has completed its initial institution building phase but must now rapidly expand its workforce, infrastructure and operational capabilities to keep pace with China, which he described as developing military space capabilities at a “breathtakingly fast” rate.
He told senators the service must organize, train and equip forces to defend U.S. satellites, protect the joint force from space-enabled attacks and provide the capabilities needed for military operations around the world.
“We must defend our nation’s space capabilities so that the Joint Force can project power; we must protect the Joint Force from space-enabled attack; and we must deliver the capabilities that the Joint Force needs to prosecute the full range of its missions,” Schiess said.
Schiess, a 34-year military veteran, began his career as an Air Force missile officer before moving into military launch, GPS and satellite communications. He has commanded the 45th Space Wing at Cape Canaveral, the missile-warning-focused 21st Space Wing and U.S. Space Forces–Space, the service component responsible for providing operational forces to U.S. Space Command.
His confirmation comes as the Space Force is reorganizing its acquisition enterprise around mission-focused Portfolio Acquisition Executives and increasing its reliance on commercial space capabilities while fielding larger constellations of military satellites.
During his confirmation hearing, Schiess endorsed that shift but argued that spacecraft capable of offensive military operations should remain under government ownership and control, even as the service expands its use of commercially provided communications, tracking and other services.
Following the Senate vote, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Schiess would lead the service as it accelerates the delivery of next-generation military space capabilities.
“I am incredibly pleased with the Senate’s confirmation of Lieutenant General Doug Schiess as our next Chief of Space Operations,” Meink said in a statement.
Saltzman, who is retiring after 35 years of military service, called Schiess “an exceptional leader” and said he had the experience needed to guide the Space Force into its next phase.