BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The 310th Space Wing, always growing and expanding, stood up a second operations group at Buckley Air Force Base during the November Unit Training Assembly. One facet of the 710th Operations Group mission is to provide support to geographically separated units within the wing, such as the 8th Space Warning Squadron, 380th Space Control Squadron and Detachment 1, 8th Space Warning Squadron.
“The 710th OG provides a smaller span-of-control so each operations group commander can maintain a better focus on their squadron, missions and people,” said Col. Daniel Bourque, 710th OG commander. “While the 310th OG has done a great job of making sure our Buckley personnel were fully integrated into the 310th SW Family of Professionals, having the group at Buckley means better insight and perspective on local issues and challenges, as well as more availability to our folks for things like mentoring.”
With the activation of the 710th OG, said Bourque, better integration can occur with the leadership of Regular Air Force partners.
“Before, the 310th OG had to stay linked with three operations groups,” said Bourque. “With the stand-up of the 710th OG, the 310th OG can focus on strengthening leadership and mission ties with the 50th OG [Schriever AFB] while the 710th OG focuses on the 460th OG [Buckley] and 21st OG [Peterson].”
As the first commander of this new group, Bourque offers words of encouragement to Reserve Citizen Airmen in both the 310th SW and the 710th OG.
“There has never been a more exciting time to be in space operations,” said Bourque. “Space is more critical than ever to the way we fight and our way of life as a nation, and that fact has not gone unnoticed by our adversaries. Space is becoming more contested every day, but we still hold the key advantage in the quality of our operators.”
This next decade, Bourque explained, will bring about many changes in how we present forces and conduct space operations to succeed in any environment.
“I know the experience, capacity, continuity and innovation we bring as a Reserve force will be more valuable than ever. I’m very humbled and blessed to be a part of the 710th OG, and I look forward to working with all of our professionals, warriors and mission partners to continue building the force our nation needs in space.”