SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — A South Lake Tahoe native has been accepted into the United State Space Force.

Lt. Colonel Jeremy Kruger during a ceremony on July 15 officially transitioned from the United States Air Force to the newest branch of the armed forces that was established in December 2019.

Kruger developed his passion for space after graduating from South Tahoe High School in 1995 while he was advancing his education at Lake Tahoe Community College.

His grandmother gave him a book written by Carl Sagan, “Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space,” that sparked his interest in space and influenced his future studies.

Kruger graduated from LTCC in 1998 with a natural science degree.

He then pursued a mechanical and aeronautical engineering double major at UC Davis where he graduated from in 2001.

Upon graduation, he began an internship at Jet Propulsion Labs working on software for the Mars pathfinder.

He said he was quite happy and JPL was likely to offer him a full time position, however, everything changed for Kruger, and many people, on Sept. 11, 2001.

His sense of patriotism meant only one thing moving forward, to serve his country in need.

He joined the United States Air Force, attending Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and was commissioned June 28, 2002.

Fortunately, his studies and previous space experience postured him for work in space within the Air Force. His first assignment was at Los Angeles Air Force Base working to acquire new space systems.

To further his education, he attended UCLA and received a masters in mechanical engineering with emphasis on control systems. Throughout the remainder of his ongoing career, he spent much time at various space hubs Los Angeles AFB, Hanscom AFB, in Massachusetts and Schriever AFB in Colorado with stents deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009, teaching Air Force ROTC at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and working the Air Force F-35 program.

Throughout, his passion has always been in space while serving his country. When the United States Space Force was formally stood up, and the opportunity arose to transfer, it was a no-brainer decision. He applied and, of the over 16,000 applicants, approximately 9,000 were selected, Kruger being one.

His transition ceremony took place on July 15 amongst family and friends at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado.

Kruger, having transferred, will take on a new assignment at Peterson Space Force Base and said he looks forward to helping to form and shape the nation’s newest branch of the armed forces while living out his passion for space.