A Separate Space


Book Description

As the United States creates the Space Force as a service within the Department of the Air Force, RAND assessed which units to bring into the Space Force, analyzed career field sustainability, and drew lessons from other defense organizations. The report focuses on implications for effectiveness, efficiency, independence, and sense of identity for the new service.




Space Capstone Publication Spacepower


Book Description

This book, Space Capstone Publication Spacepower: Doctrine for Space Forces, is capstone doctrine for the United States Space Force and represents our Service's first articulation of an independent theory of spacepower. This publication answers why spacepower is vital for our Nation, how military spacepower is employed, who military space forces are, and what military space forces value. In short, this capstone document is the foundation of our professional body of knowledge as we forge an independent military Service committed to space operations. Like all doctrine, the SCP remains subject to the policies and strategies that govern its employment. Military spacepower has deterrent and coercive capacities - it provides independent options for National and Joint leadership but achieves its greatest potential when integrated with other forms of military power. As we grow spacepower theory and doctrine, we must do so in a way that fosters greater integration with the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. It is only by achieving true integration and interdependence that we can hope to unlock spacepower's full potential.




A Separate Space Force: an 80-Year-Old Argument


Book Description

Since the end of the Gulf War, the debate over whether there should be a separate space service, equal with the Air Force, Army, and Navy, has grown in proportion to the indispensable value of space operations to our nation's defense. Increasing dependency on space-systems is a fact of military life. In this we-documented essay, Col. Michael C. Whittington compares the leading arguments for a separate space force to the cogent arguments for an independent air force made by airpower advocates during the interwar years of 1920-1940. The airpower issues in 1920 and the space power issues of today are strikingly similar, revolving around four key issues: leadership, doctrine, technology, and funding. The irony, or course, it that these arguments, which helped created an independent air force in 1947, are challenged by many within today's Air Force leadership, which leads Colonel Whittington to ask, "if there were cogent in 1920, would they not be relevant today?" Interestingly, the author, though a professional Air Force officer, is neither a space operators nor a pilot. Colonel Whittington's purpose is not to propose a separate space force but rather to provide the reader with an unbiased perspective of the arguments for and against. Though all agree that aerospace power is at a critical juncture, senior leaders are divided as to which direction the Air Force should pursue regarding space. Space separatists want space warfare freed from control of "air" commanders, argue that space power doctrine cannot be built upon airpower doctrine, contend that space is a wholly different technological medium, and want to free space funding from competition with Air Force fighter and bomber programs. Whichever road is taken - whether a separate space force or an Air Force with a greater emphasis in space - the shift from an airpower to a space power culture is inevitable. And, when this shift occurs, the author argues, the Air Force "would do well to remember its own history."




A Separate Space Force


Book Description




A Separate Space Force


Book Description

The end of the Gulf War, the debate over whether there should be a separate space service, equal with the Air Force, Army, and Navy, has grown in proportion to the indispensable value of space operations to our nation2s defense. Increasing dependency on space-systems is a fact of military life. In this well-documented essay, Col Michael C. Whittington compares the leading arguments for a separate space force to the cogent arguments for an independent air force made by airpower advocates during the interwar years of 192061940. The airpower issues in 1920 and the space power issues of today are strikingly similar, revolving around four key issues: leadership, doc-trine, technology, and funding. The irony, of course, is that these arguments, which helped create an independent air force in 1947, are challenged by many within today2s Air Force leadership, which leads Colonel Whittington to ask, 3If they were cogent in 1920, would they not be relevant today?4.




United States Space Force, An Introduction


Book Description

The United States Space Force, An Introduction - Key Concepts and Overall ProgressionSpace-based capabilities provide integral support to military, commercial, and civilian applications. Longstanding technological and cost barriers to space are falling, enabling more countries and commercial firms to participate in satellite construction, space launch, space exploration, and human spaceflight. Although these advancements are creating new opportunities, new risks for space-enabled services have emerged. Having seen the benefits of space-enabled operations, some foreign governments are developing capabilities that threaten others' ability to use space.The Derpartment of Defense proposes to establish, in Fiscal Year 2020, a United States Space Force as a separate branch of the Armed Forces within the Department of the Air Force. If authorized, the Secretary of the Air Force will be responsible for organizing, training, and equipping two separate and distinct Military Services: the United States Space Force and the United States Air Force. A uniformed 4-star Chief of Staff of the Space Force would serve as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A new Under Secretary for Space would provide dedicated civilian supervision of the Space Force.The U.S. military must posture itself to assure freedom of operation in space, to deter attacks, and, when necessary, to defeat adversary space and counterspace threats to the national security interests of the United States and its allies and partners.




The U.S. Air Force in Space, 1945 to the Twenty-First Century: Proceedings


Book Description

Contains papers presented at the Air Force Historical Foundation Symposium, held at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, on September 21-22, 1995. Topics addressed are: Pt. 1, The Formative Years, 1945-1961; Pt. 2, Mission Development and Exploitation Since 1961; and Pt. 3, Military Space Today and Tomorrow. Includes notes, abbreviations & acronyms, an index, and photographs.




A Separate Space Force


Book Description

Space systems are fundamental to modern military operations and national security. They play a central role in the ongoing revol.




The Case for Space


Book Description

This paper examines the USAF role in managing space and makes recommendations for the future of space in the United States military. Though it echoes specific recommendations made elsewhere by previous authors, the main purpose of this paper is to consider a legislative framework required to sever space from Air Force oversight, and to establish a separate United States Space Force (USSF) under the Department of Defense. The paper begins by examining the historical evolution and fractured history of space in the United States government's bureaucratic machine. Next, this paper looks at multiple reports calling for changes in space leadership and oversight, and the inability to effect meaningful change, evaluating the need for an independent Space Force. It then discusses the various roles and missions an independent space force would assume. Finally, it discusses the legal framework necessary to establish a USSF and analyzes a legislative proposal. Though this paper advocates for standing up a separate USSF, the true value of this paper is the legislation proposed in Appendix 2, and the analysis of that proposal herein. Simply considering the specific recommendations in that enabling legislation is beneficial should the United States move toward establishing a USSF.This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.The similarities between child in need of care cases and the current United States Air Force (USAF) oversight of national security space are unfortunately striking. The Air Force has been unable to properly care for space, and like the removal of the Air Force from the purview of the United States Army in 1947, removing space from Air Force management and oversight may be in the best interests of both parent and child. Congress and the Department of Defense (DOD) gave the Air Force a "parenting plan" of sorts, and for years the Air Force has failed to make significant progress on that plan and demonstrated an inability to complete that plan successfully. Time has run out, and the best interest of space dictates removal from the USAF. "Space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air, and sea... we have the Air Force, we'll have the Space Force." President Trump's words reflect the ever-growing reality that the character of warfare is changing. Much like the air domain from the end of World War I through World War II, space has emerged and evolved as a war-fighting domain. Rather than the supporting role space served up to this point, warfare in the future is likely to extend or even begin within the space domain. Additionally, as the burgeoning commercial space economy continues to grow, so too will the need for security and protection of lines of commerce grow. Unfortunately, the current USAF construct is ill equipped to meet and overcome the challenges presented by such a change in the character of war, and a new dynamic is necessary.This paper examines the USAF role in managing space and makes recommendations for the future of space in the United States military. Though it echoes specific recommendations made elsewhere by previous authors, the main purpose of this paper is to consider a legislative framework required to sever space from Air Force oversight, and to establish a separate United States Space Force (USSF) under the DOD. The paper begins by examining the historical evolution and fractured history of space in the United States government's bureaucratic machine. Next, this paper looks at multiple reports calling for changes in space leadership and oversight, and the inability to effect meaningful change without creating an independent USSF.




US Department Of The Space Force


Book Description

This prescient essay, originally published as a master's thesis in 2012, makes the case for establishing a U.S. national Space Force. As the author explains in the Abstract: In 2008, the Independent Assessment Panel on the Organization and Management of National Security Space (NSS) reported to Congress that the military and intelligence space programs are fragmented, disorganized, inefficient, and ineffective. Without strong leadership and a unifying vision, the United State (US) space enterprise is losing its advantage over competing nations. The nation must address this erosion of capability with vigor in the near term. Inaction threatens US national interests. The US should create a separate military Department of the Space Force. This work begins with a summary of the current strategic space environment, examines the fragmented state of the existing space enterprise, and establishes a framework for evaluating NSS. Having established the current NSS environment, it examines the genesis of the US Air Force (USAF). Air and airpower possess a set of specific characteristics that justify a distinct military service. This work then evaluates space and spacepower using the same series of attributes that validate a separate Air Force. Based on these attributes, the unique characteristics of space and space forces require the creation of a new Space Force. This work offers an organizational evolution for the current US space enterprise to address the significant issues that threaten the nation's ability to achieve national objectives. This necessary evolution is a Department of the Space Force. This reproduction is printed with full color interior and a handsome, durable case laminate matte exterior. An essential reference document for those interested in the once-in-generations creation of a new branch of the armed services.