When Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond reported to the Pentagon for his first day as Chief of Space Operations for the United States Space Force (USSF) in 2019, he began the process of standing up the first new military service in 72 years. Raymond’s responsibilities were multifold, from defining the mission, to staffing the service, to establishing bases and other facilities. Significantly, he was also responsible for establishing a distinct culture for current and future Guardians, as USSF personnel are known.
Raymond believed that uniforms are “the heart of the culture of the service”—wearable expressions of an organization’s goals, values, and history. Over a period of more than two years, Raymond collaborated with a team of colleagues to design a “distinctive, forward-looking” dress uniform to represent the Space Force.
