CHANTILLY, Va. — Captain R. Copeland Stubbs III, a 2008 Troy High School graduate, was recently sworn in as an officer in the newly established United States Space Force.

He will be part of their initial personnel group as the Space Force takes on its role of concentration towards space defense.

Capt. Stubbs is attached to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) which is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense. NRO is considered, along with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), to be one of the “big five” U.S. intelligence agencies.

The U.S. Space Force is a military service that organizes, trains and equips space forces in order to protect U.S. and allied interests in space and to provide space capabilities to the joint forces.

Capt. Stubbs had recently been assigned to the 5th Space Launch Squadron in association with the private SpaceX program in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

He holds an Electrical Engineering degree from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree in Business Administration.

Stubbs is the son of Jim and Jill Stubbs and Sharon and Bill Emerick of Troy. He resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Katie and daughter, Reagan.