General B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force, will receive the 2025 General James V. Hartinger Award for his outstanding achievement in the military space mission of the United States.
General Saltzman epitomizes the warrior ethos. His extraordinary leadership across multiple domains (Space, Air, Nuclear, and Cyber) resulted in greater combat effectiveness across the Combined and Joint Forces, providing significant growth in America’s strategic deterrence. Over the past three decades, his forward-thinking leadership has inspired new generations of Space Joint Warfighters ready to defend America, her Allies, and Partners.
General Saltzman’s combat-focused leadership was forged as a combat-level competitor in Missile Combat Crew operations. His tactical combat acumen further expanded to operational and strategic levels through various Intelligence Community positions, including in his Wing Commander level leadership of a National Reconnaissance Office field command.
As an Air Force Space Weapons Officer, General Saltzman taught, served with, and led Space Weapons Officer teammates, many of whom became General Officers in the U.S. Space Force.
Tested under fire, General Saltzman was a key leader in responding to the 2007 Chinese Anti-Satellite Test that created over 3,000 pieces of orbital debris. The standup of the Joint Space Operations Center, a command center providing Space Domain Awareness to mission partners around the world, had General Saltzman’s fingerprints all over it.
A historic leader, General Saltzman served as Deputy Commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, the first non-flying officer to ever serve in this critical, forward-deployed position. General Saltzman expertly integrated the multi-domain operations (Air, Space, and Cyber) that were instrumental in combat operations across the Central Command Area of Responsibility.
The Air Force Chief of Staff, General David Goldfein, hand-picked General Saltzman to lead the Air Force’s Multi-Domain Command and Control program, a precursor to today’s Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control efforts, earning him the moniker “Father of Multi-Domain Operation.”
General Saltzman was the first Three-Star General (and the first General Officer) promoted into the United States Space Force. During the promotion ceremony, General Raymond, the first Chief of Space Operations, commented, “I think it’s very appropriate that the first general who comes in is a warfighter.”
General Saltzman was the first Chief Operations Officer of the Space Force. In 2022, he was selected as Chief of Space Operations, making him the senior Space leader on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As Chief, Saltzman has sent out over 22 “C-notes” to guardians as a means of communicating with them, an adaptation of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt’s “Z-grams”. In these C-Notes, General Saltzman quickly and efficiently communicates with Guardians at all levels on a variety of issues. He also used his C-Notes to solicit feedback from Guardians to revise the Space Force Mission Statement, enhancing its combat focus.
Join us in congratulating General “Salty” Saltzman, recipient of Rocky Mountain NDIA’s 42nd Annual General James V. Hartinger Award for 2025.
General Saltzman will accept the Hartinger Award at the 2025 Rocky Mountain Ball on 30 May, 2025, in Colorado Springs, CO.
