{"id":13741,"date":"2026-07-16T18:04:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T18:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/space-force-cant-figure-out-what-personnel-it-needs-for-its-missions-gao-says\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T18:04:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T18:04:44","slug":"space-force-cant-figure-out-what-personnel-it-needs-for-its-missions-gao-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/space-force-cant-figure-out-what-personnel-it-needs-for-its-missions-gao-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Space Force can\u2019t figure out what personnel it needs for its missions, GAO says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One-quarter of the jobs Space Force leaders say they need went unfilled in fiscal 2025, partly because the young service lacks a solid way to track and use troops, civilian workers, and contractors, the Government Accountability Office found.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Space Force has not established a process or guidance to consistently and accurately determine its personnel needs to accomplish its missions. Relatedly, although it has estimated the number of contractor personnel supporting it, the Space Force does not have a process or guidance to accurately measure the number of contractor personnel and the nature of work they perform,\u201d the GAO wrote in findings published Tuesday. \u201cGAO also found that the Space Force is partly addressing personnel challenges, but its efforts are not guided by a comprehensive strategic workforce plan. Without such a plan, the Space Force may not be able to systematically plan for and manage a workforce that meets current and future mission needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Space Force filled just 13,500 of the 18,000 positions it said it needed in 2025, and shortages in cyber, enlisted, intelligence, and support roles put the service\u2019s missions at risk, investigators wrote after analyzing Space Force staffing data and visiting five bases as part of a Congressionally-ordered probe into the service\u2019s workforce woes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEven as the Space Force has continued to grow its workforce, officials have identified personnel shortfalls as a primary workforce challenge,\u201d the report said. \u201cGAO\u2019s analysis found a 25 percent shortfall when comparing assigned personnel with total personnel requirements for fiscal year 2025. \u201c<\/p>\n

Investigators said that the Space Force, the smallest of the military service branches, has a process for determining the number of guardians, civilians, and contractors it needs that is is \u201cnot consistent,\u201d \u201coutdated\u201d and does \u201cnot reflect mission growth.\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The report comes as the service\u2019s top leaders push to double the number of guardians and as it seeks a $71 billion budget request in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last year, the Space Force had 4,649 officers (30 percent), 5,336 enlisted (35 percent), and 5,407 civilian personnel (35 percent), according to the report. Service officials told the GAO that it needs more enlisted guardians for its force-generation models.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proportion of officer to enlisted Guardians was approximately 1:1 (47 percent to 53 percent),\u201d the GAO report read. \u201cThis is substantially higher than the average proportion of about 1:4 (20 percent to 80 percent) officer to enlisted personnel across the military services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Service officials and officers who spoke with GAO investigators said other key roles are also undermanned.<\/p>\n

Senior Combat Forces Command officials also said there is \u201ca critical deficiency of cyberspace expertise\u201d within the service and senior field command officials \u201ccited a shortage of intelligence analysts,\u201d according to the GAO report.<\/p>\n

The shortfalls aren\u2019t just within the Space Force. The small service relies heavily on the Air Force for many of its support roles like security forces, lawyers, and installation support. GAO investigators found \u201ca 22 percent shortfall in the number of support personnel the Air Force provides to the Space Force\u201d and added that could \u201c increase risk\u201d to the space service\u2019s missions.<\/p>\n

One official from a Space Base Delta told GAO that a shortfall of funded civil engineering positions is \u201cleading to a higher risk of mission failure, and that the Space Force is taking risk against wartime readiness requirements and Joint Force needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another official from a Space Launch Delta told GAO \u201csupporting increased space launch operations is becoming more challenging and unsustainable.\u201d In one example, a Space Force delta had to close one of its six fire stations due to manning problems and the squadron can\u2019t \u201cmeet National Fire Protection Association safety standards\u201d and \u201cproviding enough fire crew support for launches leaves the remainder of the base vulnerable in case of an emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Pentagon unveiled the service\u2019s budget request earlier this year, Jules W. Hurst III, who is performing the duties of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)\/Chief Financial Officer, said workforce cuts implemented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth didn\u2019t affect \u201ccritical efforts\u201d like \u201cspace acquisition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Space System Command, the service\u2019s acquisition arm, lost roughly 10 percent of its workforce during last year\u2019s cuts. Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, acting assistant Air Force secretary for space acquisition and integration said late last year that \u201cwe barely have enough acquirers to do all of the work that we have now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The GAO said major Trump-administration initiatives, such as the Golden Dome missile-defense effort, will strain the understaffed acquisition workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cOfficials expected that the development of the Golden Dome for America missile-defense system will increase demands on the Space Force\u2019s acquisition, test and evaluation, and operator workforces.\u201d<\/p>\n

The GAO made four recommendations to the Space Force.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Investigators said the service should \u201cestablish a process to accurately determine personnel requirements,\u201d accurately track its total number of contractor personnel, evaluate what manning needs are for long-term goals, and \u201cevaluate the effectiveness of the current arrangement for Air Force-provided base operating and other support functions for the Space Force.<\/p>\n

In their official response to the report, Defense Department officials concurred with all four recommendations.\n\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<\/div>\n