US Space Force Recruits UK Air Marshal Paul Godfrey to Boost International Alliances

The U.S. Space Force has appointed Air Marshal Paul Godfrey of the U.K. Royal Air Force as assistant chief of space operations for future concepts and partnerships, an unprecedented recruitment of a non-U.S. officer to the USSF headquarters staff. 

In his new USSF air marshal role, equivalent to the lieutenant general rank, Godfrey will advise Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, USSF chief of space operations, in international cooperative efforts for space superiority. 

Saltzman, a past Potomac Officers Club event speaker and a 2024 Wash100 awardee, viewed Godfrey’s appointment as a “significant step forward” to promote closer cooperation with allies to gain competitive advantage, the Space Force said.

Calling his appointment a “real honor,” Godfrey cited the long U.S. history of international collaboration in space and other domains that contributed to building trust, resiliency and security among allies.

Godfrey served for three years as the first commander of the U.K. Space Command established in April 2021. Immediately before his USSF appointment, he served in the U.S. Air Force’s Combined Air and Space Operations Center in the Middle East.