Col. Marc Sands ’94 credits a family legacy of service and his passion for soccer as primary drivers for his attending the U.S. Air Force Academy.

At USAFA, Col. Sands, U.S. Space Force Space Delta 13 Detachment 1 commander, majored in physics, with a focus on space physics, and later applied that expertise to his military career, especially as the Space Force emerged. His post-graduation responsibilities have been diverse, to include serving as director of operations in Afghanistan and group commander in Turkey — and even working for the CIA. These experiences, combined with his space background, eventually led to his current work inspiring and training cadets interested in the Space Force.

Reflecting on his career, Col. Sands talked to Checkpoints about his transition to the Space Force, his return to his alma mater to prepare future leaders to be ready on Day 1, and his impression of today’s Academy.

What led you to the U.S. Air Force Academy as a cadet?

What led me to the Academy as a cadet is a family history of military service. My great-grandfather, my grandfather and my great-uncle graduated from West Point, and my father was a career naval officer, so going into the military seemed kind of like the family business as I tried to figure out what to do after high school. And what drove me to the Academy versus ROTC really was athletics, specifically soccer. So, getting recruited as a soccer player here at a Division I school was something that I couldn’t pass up.

As a cadet, did you have specific career goals? 

As a cadet, my goal day to day, week to week, and semester to semester was to graduate. I know the dean here general is very fond of saying, “Don’t just survive, but thrive.” But thriving was not an option for me, so I spent a lot of time working through the academic and military aspects to make sure I was going to be able to pass, so it was a challenge. My goals really were to graduate and do so in good standing. And then after that, once I got on active duty, my goals were to serve in the in the Air Force for as long as possible, while I was enjoying myself and being value added. If I could contribute to something that was bigger than me and enjoying while I was doing it, I was going to stay in the service. And here I am, 34 years later, with the same mantra and mindset for the future of my career.

You touched on this a little bit. What was your time as a cadet like? And are there specific memories that come to mind? 

My time as a cadet was stressful, academically and militarily. I did struggle and was not exceptional in any of those areas. And every day down in the athletic fields was also a challenge. I continue to try to better myself in all areas. So, I have a lot of great memories of friends and cohorts on the sports program, physics majors and the squadron. Anytime I think of an experience or an activity, good or bad, it’s really the people that were around me that stand out. I would say the one thing that does stand out is my senior year: I was part of the soccer team that was able to go to the NCAA tournament and make it to the Elite Eight. So being part of that team during that season was a special moment for me. And of course, graduation on 1 June 1994.

As a cadet, did you have specific career goals? 

As a cadet, my goal day to day, week to week, and semester to semester was to graduate. I know the dean of the faculty here, Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre ’96, is very fond of saying, “Don’t just survive, but thrive.” But thriving was not an option for me, so I spent a lot of time working through the academic and military aspects to make sure I was going to be able to pass, so it was a challenge. My goals really were to graduate and do so in good standing. And then after that, once I got on active duty, my goals were to serve in the Air Force for as long as possible while I was enjoying myself and being value added. If I could contribute to something that was bigger than me and enjoy doing it, I was going to stay in the service. And here I am, 34 years later, with the same mantra and mindset for the future of my career.

You touched on this, but was your time as a cadet like?  

My time as a cadet was stressful, academically and militarily. I did struggle and was not exceptional in any of those areas. And every day down at the athletic fields was also a challenge. I continue to try to better myself in all areas. So, I have a lot of great memories of friends and cohorts in the sports program, physics majors and the squadron. Anytime I think of an experience or an activity, good or bad, it’s really the people that were around me who stand out. I would say the one thing that does stand out is my firstie year: I was part of the soccer team that was able to go to the NCAA tournament and make it to the Elite Eight. So being part of that team during that season was a special moment for me. And of course, graduation on June 1, 1994.

What do you feel are the most important lessons you learned while you were a cadet? 

As a cadet, the most important lesson I learned was time management. I arrived here not having very good skills when it came to time management or prioritization, and I learned very quickly that I was not going to be able to continue here without that. So, I learned that very early on and have kept to that — understanding what the priorities are and understanding what the main focus of that moment is so that I can make sure I do the important things first.

Can you talk about your time playing soccer? What position did you play? 

I played defense — a number of positions in the defensive area — and that was really a formative time while I was here at the Academy. Playing with the soccer team, I learned a lot of lessons that really forged me as a leader. I learned that it’s all about preparation and practice — that you can’t just show up to the game without putting in the hard work ahead of time. As a team, I learned that to be successful, I needed to be able to do my job and know my job as part of that team and whatever role I was in, and that I need to be reliable to do my job. And so, the lesson I learned from that moving forward in my career was make sure you communicate clearly. Make sure you have a plan. Make sure everyone knows their role, and then fight for that team and that goal, knowing that the people next to you are just as confident as you are in what they’re doing, and that you’re only going to succeed if you do it together. The formative leadership I learned at the Academy was not through the military or the academic but was through the athletic.

If you could go back, what advice would you give Cadet Sands? 

If I could go back to Cadet Sands and give some words of advice, it would be, “Do more extra instruction; get to EI more often.” But honestly, probably just focus on the relationships a little bit more and the friendships that have lasted through the years, and connect more with the other cadets who were here.

Anything else stand out from your time as a cadet at USAFA? 

It was just an exceptional time in my life, going from high school to active duty and the maturation process that the Academy kind of forged me through. I’ve kept bonds with not only the people but also the purpose in mission and career moving forward. So, it was very good for me to go through the Academy experience and graduate and become an active-duty member of the Air Force.

Let’s talk about your career post-Academy. How would you explain your professional responsibilities?

My professional responsibilities here at the Academy now are twofold. I’m the commander of the Space Detachment here at USAFA, responsible for the guardianship programs and overseeing the development of cadets who have an interest in the Space Force — inspiring them, educating them and training them to become guardians. I also have a role as a liaison officer from the Space Force to the Academy, and that’s a wider scope responsibility, where I work with all the mission elements to further develop and integrate space to a higher level here at the Academy to really make use of the Space Force’s Academy.

You graduated before there was a Space Force, but you studied aspects of space while you were here. How did your time as a cadet prepare you for where you are now?

My time here as cadet really formed my current position in knowing that the most valuable commodity the cadets have is their time, and so I know the time constraints that I had when I was here. [Today’s cadets] are under so much more responsibility and pressure than what I went through, and it’s more demanding here at the Academy than when I went here. So, my team and I, Lt. Col. [Adam] Wasinger ’05 and Capt. Sarah Dawdy, focus on making sure we’re effective and efficient when we’re dealing with the cadets, knowing that their time is finite and it’s critical, and we need to be able to very efficiently and effectively communicate with them lessons, rules, guidance and mentoring moving forward. My time as a cadet really has formulated how we work as a detachment to advance the Space Force here at the Academy.

What led you to transition into the Space Force?

The transition to the Space Force, for me, was fairly simple. An opportunity came to me when I was in NORAD-USNORTHCOM as a chief scientist; I was approached with the opportunity to join the Space Force. For me, it was a very easy answer. Joining something new and being able to be one of the few folks at a senior level who can help shape and form a brand-new service — it was an opportunity that I just couldn’t say no to. So, leveraging my space experience, and especially my degree, I was able to work at the Space Operations Command as a director of staff to formulate the future and planning of the Space Operations Command and where it’s now becoming and going to be in the future. So, it was just an exciting opportunity to build something new, which is a unique experience.

What are some highlights from your career? 

I’ve had a very diverse career. I went into the Air Force as a physicist out of the Academy in 1994 and since took a very diverse path to get to where I am today. Some positions that I was fortunate enough to take on were serving as the director of operations for a C-130 ISR flying squadron in Afghanistan. I also had the opportunity to be an operational group commander at Incirlik, Turkey, while also being the chief of nuclear operations for [U.S. Air Forces in Europe]. And probably one of the most unique positions I was able to hold was at the Central Intelligence Agency, where I worked for about four years under Charlie Allen, a legendary CIA officer who was the assistant director of central intelligence for collection. So, those jobs and positions really were some of the unique aspects and a wide net of activities I did in my career that ended me up here.

Did you ever think that you would return to the Academy in a professional capacity? 

I never once truly thought I’d be coming back to the Academy in any capacity. None of the positions that I took were lending themselves, really, for a path that would come back to the Academy. It wasn’t until the very end of my career, my last assignment, where my boss, Gen. [Stephen] Whiting [commander, U.S. Space Command], identified an opportunity to come work at the Academy as the Space Force liaison and detachment commander. I did not anticipate this being an option based on any of the jobs that I had up to this point.

How did it feel coming back?

Coming back was stressful. I had not returned for any of the reunions or activities, so it was a little bit stressful coming back where I immediately reverted to a cadet status, thinking that I was either late or had something due. But since coming back, interacting with the cadets — they are far more intelligent and driven and experienced than I was at this time — and it’s just been an amazing experience interacting with them, finding out what drives them and what their future looks like from their point of view, and then helping them achieve that.

What are your priorities, both immediate and long term?

It starts and ends with the cadet experience and making sure that we’re providing them what they need in order to develop as a cadet and be ready as a lieutenant on Day 1, whether in the Air Force or the Space Force. So, we’re not just focused on those that are joining the Space Force. Our goal really is all 1,000 graduates to make sure they leave here as either air-minded guardians or space-minded airmen when it comes to their careers. We’re so intertwined with the Air Force when it comes to our mission set and support that it’s integral to make sure they graduate with an understanding of both and speak both languages.

What are your impressions of the Air Force Academy today?

The Air Force Academy is very different than when I went here. There’s been a lot of great evolution and positive moves forward when it comes to curriculum development and the military training that they go through. Recently with the new leadership and superintendent, I know there’s a refocus on being warfighters to win, leaders of character and quality, and critical thinkers to adapt. And those are absolutely priorities and focuses that the Space Force and my detachment can nest our priorities within and focus on. As we continue to evolve with Great Power Competition, the Academy is evolving, and we are evolving with them, to ensure that we are in lockstep with the Air Force when it comes to development of the cadets.

What are some Space Force accomplishments since its inception five years ago?

The Space Force accomplishments the past five years have been numerous. Maintaining operations is paramount. As we transitioned from the Air Force Space Command into our own service, we had to ensure that we kept national capabilities operating while we stood up the service in parallel. So, ensuring we have missile warning, ensuring we have military communications, ensuring that we have surveillance and reconnaissance from space were all critical to maintain while we’re operationalizing and developing the service structure behind it. The service structure includes the force structure, the promotion process, uniforms and song — creating that culture and that guardian mindset and the guardian ideal to really have its own separate identity and force. Keeping the mission going while building all that has been a significant achievement. And now that we’ve been operationalized and restructured to fight the future battles, it’s all about ensuring we can protect national interests in, from and to space.

Is the Academy keeping pace with the Space Force’s needs? 

The Academy is keeping pace with the Space Force and its needs. As the Space Force continues to evolve its mission set and how it approaches space as a warfighting domain, as well as what it means to develop guardians for that fight, the Academy is watching and listening to those requirements and needs and evolving as well. So, as we continue to move forward with Great Power Competition, the Air Force Academy certainly is keeping pace with the new ideas, thoughts and needs of the service so that we graduate lieutenants who are capable of rolling right into that battlespace fully aware of what’s expected of them.

The Academy is the single largest commissioning source for Space Force officers. What do you see as USAFA’s future as the Academy for the Space Force? 

USAFA is the Air Force’s and Space Force’s academy. I’m going to steal a quote from a four-star general. He said, as long as the Space Force’s academy is on this planet, it will be at USAFA. I think that opens a little bit of a door for future growth in other domains. But we absolutely appreciate being part of the Department of the Air Force Academy — here with our brothers and sisters in the Air Force as we develop a subset of those cadets into guardians.

How have things changed at the Air Force Academy since the Space Force was created in 2019? 

The Air Force Academy has been doing space and providing leaders of space since the beginning in 1959 with Karol Bobko being an astronaut, all the way through recent four-star generals that graduated from the Academy, Gen. David Thompson, former [vice chief of space operations] and Gen. Whiting, currently the commander, U.S. Space Command. We have developed space leaders for the entire time the Academy has been here. Since 2019 and the stand up of the Space Force, it has evolved to create a culture that is unique for those guardian cadets. For those individuals who want to join the Space Force, we’re continuing to grow and populate a culture here that allows for those guardians to have a unique identity and a unique mission set that’s slightly different from their Air Force counterparts. So, the Air Force Academy continues to evolve, as I said, with Space Force needs driving that change as we continue to prepare cadets.

What sort of response have you seen from cadets who are interested in space and the Space Force? Is there anything that stands out as particularly exciting for you? 

The cadets nowadays are amazing. They are far more intelligent and excited than I recall when I was here. And I have found, over the past 15 months here in this assignment, that the best thing we can do is listen to the cadets and encourage them to continue to think differently. As we’re forming the Space Force, these young cadets and soon-to-be officers have a unique idea of what they think the Space Force should be doing based on their research and knowledge. And while they’re still young, they have an opportunity to actually form some of those opinions, and we encourage that. We don’t want folks that have been doing this a certain way for 30 years to suddenly say, “No, this is the only way you can do this.” So, getting them to think of new ways and new ideas, and fostering that is really what I find is the most exciting part of the job. They’ve got great ideas; some of them we can’t get to now, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea. They should continue to pursue it, and so we try to foster that a lot through the detachment. Ultimately, it’s just the excitement and eagerness that they have that they can make a difference and that their voice can be heard. We’re an exceptionally small force. Within the entire Space Force of 16,000 personnel, we only have 4,000 officers. They can make a difference. And so we’re cultivating that lack of fear of failing so they can achieve. They may not always succeed in everything that they do, but their voice can be heard, and they can try new things — and we’re going to support them in doing that. I think that keeps us going every single day here.

There’s discussion about the Academy developing a physical location for space education. Can you tell us about that?

Yes, the Space Education Center has been a concept in the works for the past couple of years, and it’s an exciting idea. I think it would be an exceptional addition to the Academy where you can have a physical representation and a consolidation of space activities here at USAFA into a single facility. The Space Education Center is still working on its requirements regarding exactly what mission sets, what classification level and what kind of infrastructure are needed in order to go forward with the project. But ultimately, it’s a project we think is worth pursuing, and we’re excited to bring it to the Air Force Academy in the near future, as we continue to build through those requirements and figure out how we can make that dream a reality.

Any specifics on your wish list that you would like to see there?

My wish list is baked into some of the requirements already, where we’re going to have interoperability, not only with other entities at the Academy, such as cyber city or the Madera Cyber Innovation Center or the Multi-Domain Lab, but also to try to reach out and connect with some of the operational activities that are in the Colorado Springs area, to get some real data, operational data. To start getting the cadets used to seeing some of those activities at a classified level, I think would be exceptional opportunity for the cadets; and being it’s in the local area, it’s a huge opportunity, if we can make that a reality.

As you think about space and its increasing militarization, what are the opportunities and threats? 

We’ve been sending up military activity in space for a long period of time, but it is becoming much more congested and contested in space. One of the biggest factors is the commercialization of space, where before it was only nation states that could afford to launch satellites into space, and now you’ve got private companies that are not only launching into space, but also going to asteroids for mining of minerals or landing on the moon for resource acquisition. As those companies move forward, it’s the Space Force’s responsibility, and U.S. Space Command’s responsibility to ensure that they have the ability to do that. So, as U.S. interests grow in space, whether it’s military or commercial, the mission of the Space Force is to protect our interests in, from and to space. That includes commercial entities that might be out there that other nations or other commercial entities might want to disrupt. Our job is to make sure that they have free flow of commerce and activities on those planets or those asteroids. So, it’s an exciting thought, when you look at the realm of possible options for us to go in the Space Force, and what our area of responsibility really is, because it begins at [an altitude of] roughly 100 kilometers with the Kármán line, and U.S. Space Command’s responsibility goes all the way out to infinity. So, there is no limit. I know that Gen. Whiting and some of the leaders have talked about the geographic command of U.S. Space Command. They’re using the term “astrographic,” where “geo” is related more to Earth, and this is more of the stars and skies. So, U.S. Space Command’s astrographic area of responsibility is something that the U.S. Space Force will continue to support and provide guardians in defense of.

What would you like to see from the USAFA graduate community in the way of supporting the Academy and each other?

I would love to see the USAFA graduate community embrace more of the activities here at the Academy. We have such a strong community, but it’s not as strong as I see at the Naval Academy or even West Point. And so, I would look to the graduates to be more active and more supportive of what we’re doing here at the Academy in all aspects, not just the space aspects, but the air aspects as well, and try to get a closer, better bond with its graduates, of what the cadets are doing here and what we need them to do from a post-graduation point of view.

Thirty years on from graduation, what does it mean to be part of the Long Blue Line?

For me, the Long Blue Line actually started gray. As I mentioned, having a great-grandfather and grandfather and great-uncle who went to West Point, my family lineage went from a gray line to a blue line. So for me, it’s about having a common forging of character when you go through the experience of the Academy. Having that common experience and that common understanding of what an Academy experience is like, really kind of drove a partnership and a friendship across not only squadrons, but also through class years, where you have that common bond of that crucible and that legacy of the Academy experience that you don’t get from a non-academy experience. 

Editor’s note: Some of the original questions and answers were edited for clarity. Visit usafa.org or scan the QR code to view a highlight video of Checkpoints’ interview with Col. Sands and to read the full interview.