But as a service organization it is not seen as what it ultimately will become: a warfighting organization. Space Command's current task must be the maintenance of existing systems, the development of follow-on capabilities and - most important - the development of doctrine and technology for defense and offense in space.
If control of space is as important to U.S. power as we believe it is, then this last function represents Space Command's most crucial mission. The foundation of that mission is the merger of all levels of warfare into Space Command's operational support structure.
If control of space is as important to U.S. power as we believe it is, then this last function represents Space Command's most crucial mission. The foundation of that mission is the merger of all levels of warfare into Space Command's operational support structure.
In the 1980s a program called Tactical Employment of National Capabilities was created. It involved taking all of the space-based assets that had been developed to support strategic (nuclear) warfare and refocusing them on the actual wars the United States was fighting. This program had much to do with changing the mindset of what was strategic and what was tactical.
Under the Administration's latest plan, Space Command, which had so much to do with refocusing space capabilities on the real needs of the military, is going to be handed over to STRATCOM, a command whose focus is on U.S. nuclear capabilities.
Under the Administration's latest plan, Space Command, which had so much to do with refocusing space capabilities on the real needs of the military, is going to be handed over to STRATCOM, a command whose focus is on U.S. nuclear capabilities.
STRATCOM's mission is to remain ready to fight a nuclear war. The United States may one day again face the kind of nuclear war STRATCOM is prepared to fight but right now it is an anachronism.
Indeed, referring to STRATCOM as "strategic" raises the question: In what sense are nuclear weapons strategically decisive today? The heart of the matter is that STRATCOM has a nuclear mission. Space Command supports every service at every level yet, after more than a decade of making space into something that transcends nuclear warfare, it is being handed over to STRATCOM.
Indeed, referring to STRATCOM as "strategic" raises the question: In what sense are nuclear weapons strategically decisive today? The heart of the matter is that STRATCOM has a nuclear mission. Space Command supports every service at every level yet, after more than a decade of making space into something that transcends nuclear warfare, it is being handed over to STRATCOM.