ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Space Force on Dec. 12 unveiled an overhaul of its command structure that consolidates two large organizations under a three-star general.
The name of the brand new organization, U.S. Space Forces-Space, is a little bit of a mouthful, intended to capture the unit’s strong deal with meeting the needs of U.S. Space Command.
Whereas the Space Force is a military service, U.S. Space Command is a Department of Defense unified combatant command chargeable for planning and conducting military operations within the space domain. The command has representatives from all military branches, including the Space Force, from the U.S. intelligence community and several other foreign allies.
U.S. Space Forces-Space was officially activated Dec. 6 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. It combines what was previously two organizations: the Joint Task Force Space Defense, and the Combined Force Space Component Command.
“The largest thing is the competition we’re in”
Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess, commander of U.S. Space Forces-Space
The unit’s commander, Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess, is dual-hatted. He’s responsible to prepare, train and equip units for the Space Force, and he can be in command of U.S. Space Command’s component that oversees all space forces, whether or not they are from the Space Force or some other military branch.
Previously, U.S. Space Command’s two components were run by separate generals. Each will transition under Schiess.
The consolidation should improve the Space Force’s ability to deploy space-based assets quickly and effectively, Schiess said during a panel discussion on the Space Force Association’s Spacepower conference.
It also should streamline support for joint military operations reliant on space-based assets, he said. With terrestrial forces heavily reliant on space-based GPS, communications, and intelligence, the Space Force faces a continuing demand for reliable, ubiquitous capabilities.
U.S. Space Forces-Space must be “laser focused” on terrestrial support to combatant commanders and on the defense of space assets, Schiess said.
“The largest thing is the competition we’re in,” he said. “China has high powered lasers, they’ve jammers. They’ve direct-ascent, anti satellite weapons,” he added. “There’s obviously Russia as well, and we’re trying to North Korea and others which are bringing on capabilities as well.”
“So we have now to be certain that we have now the guardians capable of perform the missions that they should do to get after what the commander of U.S. Space Command needs them to do,” Schiess said.
The revamped command structure also seeks to strike a balance between supporting earthly warfighters and international space cooperation at DoD’s regional combatant commands in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
Demand for coalition support
As more nations spend money on developing their very own military space programs, the U.S. is increasingly facing requests for assistance. Providing training, infrastructure, and expertise requires dedicated personnel and resources.
Col. Max Lantz, commander of the newly established U.S. Space Forces-Europe & Africa, said there are about 50 nations his command interacts with. The Space Force component in Europe also serves because the “space whisperer” to assist inform senior commanders’ decision making.
Lantz is a proponent of more educational opportunities for U.S. allies, equivalent to allowing officers from partner nations to take the identical space courses as U.S. service members.
“Education is sort of the inspiration for all of that sort of engagement,” he said. “When we are able to talk in a typical lexicon, when we have now a typical understanding of the physics involved within the space domain, that’s quite essential,” he said. “That offers us a foundation to construct a relationship.”
Nations with more mature military space programs equivalent to the UK, France and Germany are starting training programs aimed toward allies with nascent capabilities, said Lantz. “Especially after we start talking concerning the African continent, there are opportunities for education. In order that’s a key step for us.”
There are increasingly more requests from allies for space operations training, said Lantz. “And so they are beginning to grow to be demanding customers,” he added. “I feel what we’re gonna begin to see is an increasing number of of our operations becoming integrated.”