CFC Squadrons Support Weapon School Distributed Operations Mission

The U.S. Air Force Weapons School patches symbolize the highest level of tactical expertise, marking graduates as elite instructors and leaders who have completed one of the world's most demanding training programs. Its mission is to cultivate tactical experts and leaders capable of controlling and exploiting air, space, and cyberspace for the joint force, providing advanced training in weapons and tactics employment. These highly skilled graduates return to their units as invaluable advisors, sharing their knowledge to integrate combat power and ensure readiness across all domains.

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CFC Squadrons Support Weapon School Distributed Operations Mission

Published April 15, 2026
By John Ayre

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. --

Squadrons across U.S. Space Force Combat Forces Command participated in the Weapon School Distributed Operations Mission, supporting advanced training for U.S. Space Force weapons officers and strengthening integrated mission planning across the force.

WSDOM is an exercise developed by Space Training and Readiness Command’s 328th Weapons Squadron, U.S. Air Force Weapon School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The exercise brings together CFC units, Space Forces–Space, National Reconnaissance Office elements, and experienced weapons and tactics graduates to execute realistic, wartime-focused planning scenarios.

During the exercise, weapon school students developed strategic and operational-level mission type orders before embedding with operational units for execution. Hosted by CFC squadrons, students led Mission Planning Cells composed of operators from tactical and command-and-control units. Together, the teams built and executed integrated tactical plans across multiple U.S. Space Force mission areas using simulators and other advanced training tools.

“The complexity and pace of modern space warfare are daunting even for professionals, patch and non-patch alike,” said Lt. Alec Kleitz, 4th Space Operations Squadron, mission planning cell technician. “The perspective brought by the Weapon School Undergraduates and Instructor of Records was key to guiding a team that knew much about our own systems, but little about others', through the difficult scenario.”

For CFC units, participation in WSDOM provides exposure to advanced planning methodologies and reinforces the importance of integrated operations across domains and mission sets. Numerous formations support the exercise by providing personnel from the 328th Weapons Squadron, offering Guardians a firsthand look at the weapons school experience and its contribution to operational excellence.

“Weapons School academics are directly tied into the latest and greatest from operational units so there should not be a gap to bridge,” said Maj. Claudia Martinez, 328th Weapons Squadron. “WSDOM executes directly from the operational units’ spaces and forces all the units to integrate via the Weapons School students’ planning and synchronization of effects.

WSDOM is one of several service-level exercises designed to sharpen the Space Force’s ability to plan, integrate, and execute operations in a contested environment. Through events like this, CFC continues to build a combat-ready force capable of delivering decisive spacepower in support of the Joint Force.

“WSDOM helped me understand the rigor and dedication required to master mission planning techniques to create, integrate, and execute war-winning operations,” said Lt. Alex Terry, 4 SOPS tactician. “Collaborating with fellow package leads and the weapons school students helped me understand and synchronize critical mission planning techniques for all phases of conflict.”