The Spacepower Podcast
The Space Force Trains Guardians. Delta 13 Teaches Them Why They Fight.
Why It Matters
Understanding the "why" behind space operations equips Guardians and partners to effectively leverage space as a pillar of national power, from diplomacy to economics. As public awareness of the Space Force remains low, Delta 13’s education initiatives are crucial for building a knowledgeable force and informing the broader American audience about the strategic importance of space.
Key Takeaways
- •Delta 13 delivers education, not just training, for Space Force guardians.
- •Education explains why space matters to national security and economy.
- •Partnerships with joint force, industry, academia drive curriculum relevance.
- •Delta 13 runs professional military, continuing, and partnership education programs.
- •Vision: seamless, tech‑centric education integrated across services and allies.
Pulse Analysis
In this episode, Colonel Allison Gonzalez, commander of Space Delta 13, explains why the Space Force separates education from training. While Delta 1 provides the how‑to of operating satellites, Delta 13 supplies the why—clarifying space’s role in diplomacy, information, military power, and the growing space economy. Gonzalez emphasizes that a deep understanding of national‑security stakes fuels guardian motivation and mission effectiveness, a message that resonates across the service’s rapid expansion.
Delta 13 sits under Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM), one of three field commands overseeing the force’s readiness. The delta manages three pillars: professional military education for officers and enlisted guardians, continuing education throughout careers, and partnership education that links industry, academia, and joint‑force institutions. By embedding guardians in universities such as Texas A&M and Purdue, and collaborating with the National Reconnaissance Office and private sector innovators, Delta 13 ensures curricula stay current with emerging technologies and operational challenges, reinforcing the United States’ strategic advantage in space.
Looking ahead, Gonzalez envisions an education ecosystem that is seamless, tech‑centric, and indistinguishable across services, allies, and civilian partners. Rapid integration of AI, quantum computing, and data analytics will keep the curriculum ahead of policy and threat curves. The episode also highlights the Space Force Association’s effort to raise public awareness—less than ten percent of Americans know the Space Force exists. By sharing Delta 13’s curriculum with broader audiences, the partnership aims to educate both the nation and the joint force about the critical role of space in national security.
Episode Description
Most people who know the Space Force exists assume it trains operators. People who know how to run satellites, track threats, and execute missions. What fewer people understand is that operating a system and understanding why that system matters are two entirely different things. One is a skill. The other is the foundation of a warfighter.
Space is no longer a peaceful backstop for GPS and weather. It's a contested domain, one that underpins every instrument of American power, from diplomacy to the economy to combat operations. The Space Force didn't just need people who could do the job. It needed people who could explain why the job exists in the first place, and then teach that to the entire joint force, allied partners, and eventually the American public.
In this episode of the Spacepower Podcast, SFA Founder and host Bill Woolf sits down with Col. Alison Gonzalez, Commander of Space Delta 13, the Space Force's dedicated education command under Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM), to explore why building a force of strategic thinkers is just as important as building a force of trained operators.
Why the Space Force separated education from training — and what's lost when you collapse the two
What Delta 13 actually does: the three pillars of professional military education, continuing education, and partnership education
How Delta 13 educates beyond Guardians — including the joint force, international allies, industry, and academia
Why Col. Gonzalez believes seamless integration across all those partners is the long-term vision — and what stands in the way
The role universities like Texas A&M, Arizona State, and Purdue play in developing Guardian leaders
How industry partnerships give Guardians real operational problem sets to solve — and bring solutions back to the force
The story behind Col. Gonzalez becoming one of the first Guardians to wear and publicly demonstrate the Space Force service dress uniform
How she went from satellite operator to commanding one of STARCOM's deltas — and what she'd tell any Guardian trying to rise through the ranks
Why less than 10% of Americans know the Space Force exists — and what SFA and Delta 13 can do together to change that
Education is the why behind everything the Space Force does. Without it, you have operators. With it, you have Guardians who understand what they're protecting and why it's worth fighting for.
Hosted by Bill Woolf
Produced by Ty Holliday
AV by Redwire
Production Support by Emily Honhart and Omar Mahmoud
Col. Alison R. Gonzalez Commander, Space Delta 13, Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) Col. Gonzalez assumed command of Delta 13 in July 2025, taking charge of the Space Force's education enterprise headquartered at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Her career spans satellite operations, the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Space Defense Center, and Headquarters U.S. Space Force, where she served as Director of Staff for the Office of the Chief of Human Capital prior to taking command.
Learn more about Space Delta 13: https://www.starcom.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Units/Space-Delta-13-Education/
Learn more about the U.S. Space Force: https://www.spaceforce.mil/
Join SFA: https://ussfa.org/
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