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Old 07-26-2017, 02:00 PM
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Arrow Senators sending lofty Space Corps hopes down to Earth

Senators sending lofty Space Corps hopes down to Earth
By: Joe Gould - Defense News
RE: https://www.defensenews.com/congress...Space%20Report


WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Rogers, the House Strategic Forces Subcommittee chairman and Congress’ chief advocate for a new branch of the military focused on space, issued a dire warning to fellow lawmakers. The United States faces very real threats from Russia and China, he said, and “war-fighting has become absolutely dependent on space.”

Satellites make up the American military’s nervous system, providing communications, intelligence, navigation. Its adversaries have wisely begun developing anti-satellite capabilities, like rockets, kamikaze satellites and directed energy weapons to take them out — which would cripple the U.S. in a war.

Proponents of a space force say only a new service, removed from the Air Force’s organizational and management structure, would have the leeway to shore up America’s eroding advantage in space. And the proposal sparked headlines that made the whole thing seem like it was all but accomplished.

But several key lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee would at best need serious convincing — a bad sign for the proposal becoming reality. Ultimately, lawmakers in the two chambers must reconcile their versions of the annual defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act.

Tellingly, Rogers’ counterpart in the Senate — Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb. — said she was “not sold on the idea,” even after a visit with Rogers. Florida Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson a former astronaut, was dismissive: “It’s not going anywhere.”

Proposed by Rogers, R-Ala., and Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., the idea made headlines when it was voted into the sweeping 2018 NDAA by the House Armed Services Committee. It was part of the bill when it passed the House on July 13 despite efforts to derail it.

The White House, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, “Space Corps” equals more bureaucracy. In a letter to Rep. Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican leading the congressional opposition, said he was against the “additional organizational and administrative tail.”

“At a time when we are trying to integrate the Department’s joint warfighting functions, I do not wish to add a separate service that would likely present a narrower and even parochial approach to space operations,” Mattis wrote.

Rogers has argued the Air Force is resisting the move in part because its space accounts are a “money pot,” which service leaders have raided for years to pay for air-domain needs.

“If we create a separate corps, the money goes to a separate corps, and that’s why the fighter pilots [who are] general officers are opposed to it,” Rogers said.

But Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, has acknowledged the military has faced difficulties in executing space programs, he argued that House lawmakers have not adequately laid out the organization and functions of the Space Corps, or even how much forming it would cost.

“While they work for increased readiness and refocus on modernization, restructuring the bureaucracy to the great extent of creating another service branch is extreme,” said Turner, R-Ohio.

Peter Singer, a senior fellow at non-partisan think tank New America and the author of “Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War,” said space is a very important domain, and “The opening battles of a World War III would arguably be silent, focusing on cyber and space.”

Yet Singer believes the solution is not organizational but in the acquisition of enough cheap, redundant micro-satellites that an adversary cannot hope to take out U.S. capabilities. “What makes us vulnerable is expensive launch platforms and expensive satellites, so that we cannot have enough of them,” he said.

The SASC’s NDAA addresses this question in its own way, by establishing the position of chief information warfare officer who oversees military cyber and space policies. The Senate bill would also require the chief of Air Force Space Command see a six-year term.

After the Senate passes that NDAA, the two chambers will have to appoint members to negotiate, or conference, a version acceptable to both chambers.

On July 17, Fischer signaled she was inclined to listen to Mattis, who was firm in his opposition. The idea of a new command of hundreds, and the resources hat would take, put Fischer off.

“I don’t know where it’s going to in conference, but my inclination was not to be supportive, and hearing Secretary Mattis’ comments just reinforced that,” Fischer said.

Fischer said she was satisfied that members have, through briefings, become increasingly aware of the challenges the U.S. faces in space. “We face some challenges and I believe we’re on track to meet those challenges,” she said.

Several influential members of the SASC said they were still keeping an open mind on the idea of a Space Corps, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Airland Subcommittee ranking member Angus King, a Maine Independent who caucuses with Democrats.

Still, a key voice on Air Force issues in Congress, Airland Subcommittee chair, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., brushed the idea of a Space Corps aside.

“Sounds like a solution in search of a problem,” he said.
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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Old 07-26-2017, 02:05 PM
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Arrow Space Corps could 'disrupt' DoD capabilities, warns Selva

Space Corps could 'disrupt' DoD capabilities, warns Selva
By: Aaron Mehta - Defense News
RE: http://www.defensenews.com/space/201...s-warns-selva/

WASHINGTON — Creating a new military branch focused solely on space could disrupt Pentagon capabilities and exacerbate existing issues rather than fixing them, the Defense Department's No. 2 uniformed official warned Tuesday.

Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that "the time is not right for a conversation about a separate space corps or space force," adding that creating one would "complicate the command and control of the current space constellation."

Selva was on Capitol Hill to testify at his reconfirmation hearing to continue for a second two-year term as vice chairman. Based on statements from the senators, he will easily be awarded another term.


But his comments may cause some consternation in the House, which voted to include a proposal for the creation of a Space Corps in its version of the National Defense Authorization Act. The NDAA passed by the House Armed Services Committee would direct the Defense Department to establish a Space Corps by Jan. 1, 2019. The Space Corps would fall under the Department of the Air Force but operate as an independent service, similar to the Marine Corps’ relationship to the Department of the Navy.

Space Corps could 'disrupt' DoD capabilities, warns Selva
By: Aaron Mehta   July 18

U.S. Air Force Gen. Paul J. Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks during a Brookings Institute Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence discussion in Washington, Jan. 21, 2016. The discussion addressed efforts being made to keep the armed forces at the forefront of innovation. (DoD photo by Army Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp/Released)
WASHINGTON — Creating a new military branch focused solely on space could disrupt Pentagon capabilities and exacerbate existing issues rather than fixing them, the Defense Department's No. 2 uniformed official warned Tuesday.

Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that "the time is not right for a conversation about a separate space corps or space force," adding that creating one would "complicate the command and control of the current space constellation."

Selva was on Capitol Hill to testify at his reconfirmation hearing to continue for a second two-year term as vice chairman. Based on statements from the senators, he will easily be awarded another term.


But his comments may cause some consternation in the House, which voted to include a proposal for the creation of a Space Corps in its version of the National Defense Authorization Act. The NDAA passed by the House Armed Services Committee would direct the Defense Department to establish a Space Corps by Jan. 1, 2019. The Space Corps would fall under the Department of the Air Force but operate as an independent service, similar to the Marine Corps’ relationship to the Department of the Navy.


Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has indicated he thinks the Space Corps idea is a flawed one, a view apparently shared by Selva. The latter used his appearance Tuesday to make the case that the Pentagon has already begun reforms in how space is handled and urged senators to allow those changes to take effect before looking at more dramatic solutions.

The general pointed to three reform tracks the department has underway. The first is the consolidation of "national defense of space" responsibilities into a single command-and-control center, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He also recommended that the secretary of the Air Force continue to have acquisition authority for all satellites that are critical to military defense.

Finally, Selva pointed to a number of reforms underway, directed by U.S. Strategic Command chief Gen. John Hyten. Those include giving the commander of Air Force Space Command the responsibility to manage the Pentagon’s entire constellation of satellites, as opposed to having various pieces managed through subcomponents, as well as elevating Air Force Space Command from a three-star to a four-star role.

"It will require time to evaluate the impact of this increased level of oversight, affecting both the provision of joint space forces and the conduct of joint space operations," Selva wrote in his prepared testimony. "Further, DoD is currently conducting an NDAA-directed review more broadly of the overall space enterprise, which will provide greater insights on this particular matter. I support allowing time to implement this reorganization and to evaluate its efficacy."
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Boats

O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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