About Us

Graphic of USSF Medical Operations Directorate Seal

The U.S. Space Force Medical Operations Directorate was established March 10, 2023, as the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General’s third Directorate. The HAF / SG SF is a headquarters Air Force directorate, delineated as HAF/SG SF, and implements the HAF / SG’s vision for medical operational and mission support to the newest branch of the military, the USSF, and its Guardians, aligning policies, support, and innovation with the USSF Mission.

The operational medical needs and requirements of the USSF Guardians are unique and critical to meeting National Security Strategy, National Military Strategy, National Defense Authorization Act, Chief of Space Operations, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and global space goals and objectives. Space superiority is predicated on human systems’ integration of ready, reliable, fit Guardians.

HAF / SG SF is tasked with strategically and operationally ensuring human performance optimization of Guardian warfighters and is key in developing people and integrative capabilities to generate readiness and project power.

USSF Medical Operations & Standards Division
Mission: Forge and implement proactive medical policy and readiness standards that drive Guardian human performance to create a decisive combat advantage in the space domain.

Vision: SG SFO is the vanguard of Space Force Medicine for the DAF, setting the standard for optimizing the human weapon system and ensuring Guardians are medically and psychologically prepared to be lethal space warfighters.

Surgeon General’s Strategic Imperatives:

1. Deliver DAF Integrated Operational Capabilities
- Provide medical oversight and operational support to ensure the combat effectiveness of deployed and Employed-in-Place Guardians
2. Joint Force Readiness Support
- Drive integration of USSF medical requirements across joint and interagency partners to ensure seamless support
- Train Air Force Medical Service personnel to prepare for the medical complexities and threats of the multidimensional space domain
3. Medical Force Development
- Establish rigorous accession and retention standards to build a resilient and medically optimized force from inception
- Deliver predictive occupational risk assessments to inform strategic decision-making and mitigate threats to the force
4. Providing a Medically Ready Force
- Develop and implement threat-based medical policy, governance, & readiness standards to maximize Guardian performance
- Advise senior leaders and federal partners on medical risks and human performance strategies for the space domain
- Direct psychological health policy to forge Guardian resilience against the unique stressors of space operations
- Develop force health protection policy to counter environmental, occupational, and operational threats
USSF Medical Force Development & Resourcing Division
The USSF Medical Force Development & Resourcing Division provides policy, strategic guidance, and oversight for Space Force Medicine across the DAF and joint medical enterprise. Our mission is to proactively enable the innovation and development of advanced medical capabilities essential for Guardian combat-readiness and human performance optimization in alignment with the Surgeon General's Four Strategic Imperatives.

Mission: Establish and Sustain Medically Ready Warfighters Securing our Nation’s interest in, from, and to Space.

Vision: The World’s Elite Medical Service, in, from, and to Space.

Surgeon General’s Strategic Imperatives:

1. Deliver DAF Integrated Operational Capabilities: Integrating tailored medical capabilities into operational units.

2. Joint Force Readiness Support: Enhancing joint patient movement, capacity, interoperability, and casualty care.

3. Medical Force Development: Continuing advanced training and education of service members.

4. Providing a Medically Ready Force: Ensuring efficient, high-quality healthcare delivery for Guardians and their families through partnership with the Defense Health Agency.

Lines of Effort:
- Readiness
- Force Development
- Education & Training
- Resourcing & Innovation
- Data & Human Systems Integration
SG SFS: Anticipating Threats, Enabling Combat Readiness

Force Development
- Develop total force policy to build a medically ready force equipped for a contested environment
- Oversee the recruitment, retention, and career development of AFMS space medicine experts
- Deliberately shape the medical force structure to outpace future threats and ensure sustained readiness
Education & Training
- Formulate and support threat-based curriculum development with partners like USAFSAM, AETC, and STARCOM
- Establish and disseminate professional competencies required for complex USSF medical operations
- Innovate realistic medical training through joint exercises, simulations, and advanced learning platforms
Resourcing & Innovation
- Develop forward-looking acquisition strategies to innovate medical capabilities for future Guardian requirements
- Proactively evaluate AFMS portfolios to meet Space Force mission sustainment requirements
- Oversee the Space Force Medicine PPBE process to fund readiness and future capabilities
- Champion capabilities, technologies, and innovations that give Guardians a decisive medical advantage
- Develop strategic approaches for leveraging diverse contracting mechanisms, including SBIR / STTRs, to drive medical innovation and secure future capabilities
Data & HSI
- Provide predictive decision support by gathering, extracting, and analyzing key human performance data
- Develop and implement analytics solutions to optimize performance and mitigate operational risk
- Apply predictive modeling to forecast future medical requirements and identify emerging threats to readiness

History of USSF Medical Operations Directorate

HAF / SG SF Divisions