Vandenberg Space Force Base to Welcome New Commander for Main Unit
Col. Anthony Mastalir, commander of Space Launch Delta 30 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, talks to military members in late May. On Friday, Mastalir will relinquish command and Col. Robert Long will take the helm of Vandenberg’s primary unit. (Michael Peterson / U.S. Space Force photo) By Janene Scully, Noozhawk North County Editor | @JaneneScully
June 9, 2021
| 7:53 p.m.
The primary unit at Vandenberg Space Force Base will gain a new leader after saying farewell to another during a change of command ceremony Friday.
Col. Robert Long will relieve Col. Anthony Mastalir as commander of Space Launch Delta 30 (formerly 30th Space Wing) during the ceremony starting at 10 a.m. at the base parade grounds.
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“At a time when the threats in this domain are growing by the day, our nation can ill-afford the delay, expense, and attrition associated with relocating Space Command,” they wrote.
In mid-January, during the final days of the Trump administration, the Air Force announced it would move the permanent headquarters of Space Command from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs to the Army s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville.
The news was highly unexpected as Colorado Springs was long-viewed as the front-runner to host the new headquarters due to Space Command’s predecessor, Air Force Space Command, having been headquartered at Peterson.