Col. Jeremy Raley officially succeeded Col. Eric Felt as head of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s space vehicles directorate and the AFRL Phillips Research Site during a change-of-command ceremony that took place Wednesday at Kirtland AF Base in New Mexico.
AFRL said Friday that Raley assumed his dual-hatted role after serving as director of the strategic capabilities group within the U.S. Space Force’s Space Rapid Capabilities Office.
“Raley’s credentials in science and technology are long-standing, attaining a doctorate early in his career and applying that knowledge as a bench-level scientist,” AFRL Commander Heather Pringle said.
“His assignments have been diverse, spanning research and development and acquisition, and an operational deployment where he was embedded with warfighters, giving him the opportunity to see how our systems and technology work in the field.”
Prior to his role at SpRCO, Raley served as a division chief within the space vehicles directorate where he oversaw three spacecraft missions and research efforts.
Felt, who led the laboratory’s space vehicles directorate for four years, is now USSF’s deputy executive director for the space architecture, science and technology directorate located at the Pentagon.