Photo By Staff Sgt. Alexandra Longfellow | PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen....... read more read more
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PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE—An enlisted space control technician from Delta 3 was chosen as one of two U.S. Space Force selectees for the Senior Leader Enlisted Commissioning Program and was congratulated with a surprise in-person visit by Chief of Space Operations, Gen. John “Jay” Raymond Nov. 23, 2020.
Staff Sgt. Kevin Justice is currently a space control technician assigned to the 4th Space Control Squadron, which is a Space Delta 3 unit in the USSF. With recommendation from Justice’s direct leadership team, Raymond recently selected him to commission through the SLECP.
“I was notified originally via a surprise teleconference with the CSO and my leadership team that started as an exercise meeting.” Justice said. “I felt a little suspicious at first, but then it genuinely turned into a real 30 minute meeting. Then Gen. Raymond called-in and told me that I had been selected for SLECP and would be attending Officer Training School.”
“My reaction was instant,” Justice said. “I was having trouble standing and was really nervous and shaky. At first I didn’t know how to respond to Gen. Raymond, but once I recovered I was ecstatic. I have been working on this for a really long time.”
SLECP is a commissioning program which enables senior military leaders to handpick enlisted members to commission through OTS who are highly talented and exhibit exceptional performance and leadership abilities.
The program provides a two-track opportunity – SLECP-A, for enlisted members to pursue their degree full time while on active duty status; and SLECP-O, for Airmen who have already acquired their degree to directly commission through OTS. Justice fell into the SLECP-O category as a result of him earning his Bachelor’s degree in Geoscience while on active duty.
Although there is no board or application needed for SLECP, the selection is still extremely competitive with each U.S. Air Force Major Command selecting only one and the USSF selecting only two candidates for SLECP each cycle.
“Our Space Force is absolutely full of highly qualified and motivated space professionals, so to rise to the top of such an outstanding field of peers and be selected for this program is truly a testament to Kevin’s performance and character,” said Raymond. “While the Space Force is a very technology-driven Service with equipment both on the Earth and in orbit, its success is founded upon the exceptional men and women, like Kevin, who will lead the Space Force into the future.”
Justice will find out soon when he is scheduled to depart for Maxwell Air Force Base, and attend OTS. After graduation and earning his gold bars, he will switch career fields from the enlisted 1C6 Space Systems Operations position, to the officer 13S Space Operations career field.
Among his many accolades, Justice proved himself among his peers by leading the one-of-a-kind deployed space control effort in U.S. Africa Command. Justice integrated space with the Joint Special Operations Task Force which ultimately led to the targeting of high priority Violent Extremist Organizations, 500 Enemies-Killed-In-Action, and the rescue of two civilians. With these achievements, Justice was critical to his deployed squadron winning the U.S. Air Force’s Space Crew of the Year Award for 2019.
The 4th SPCS leadership never wants to lose a team member of Justice’s caliber, but they are excited to know he’s off to make a larger impact as a new leader ready to shape the USSF.
“I’m extremely excited for Justice’s future as an Officer, although, the Warhawks will surely miss one of our high-impact enlisted leaders,” said Lt. Col. Kara Sartori, Commander, 4th SPCS. “He has done outstanding work for us, training our instructors and tacticians here locally as well as helping out the weapons school to spread the word about our mission. The USSF will certainly benefit by commissioning Justice as an Officer.”
| Date Taken: | 11.23.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 11.23.2020 18:38 |
| Story ID: | 383617 |
| Location: | COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, US |
| Web Views: | 177 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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