ORS, Vol. 6, No. 3 - Air Force Space Command

Senior Leader PerspectiveThe Warfighter's Perspectiveon Space SupportLTG Kevin T. Campbell, USACommanding GeneralUSASMDC/ARSTRAT CommanderJoint Functional Component CommandIntegrated Missile DefenseHuntsville, AlabamaEight plus years of persistent conflict has taught us importantlessons. Chief among these is the fact that for the foreseeablefuture, our soldiers will consistently be involved in full spectrumoperations. We anticipate our Army forces deploying intoaustere environments where space must play a foundational role.This is especially true in early entry operations. Here, space supportis vital. Space enables our ground units to pierce the “fog ofwar.” Space-provided products and services assist our troops inmaintaining situational awareness of their position, the position offriendly forces, current terrain information, current and projectedweather conditions, and enemy locations and capabilities—all criticalrequirements when operating in the heart of enemy strongholds.Freedom of action on today’s battlefield is tied to space-basedcapabilities. Over the course of the last decade, we have made significantadvances in providing space-based products and services toour brigades and battalions. Commanders at this level have spacesupport that far exceeds anything available to their peers duringDesert Shield and Desert Storm. Our soldiers tell us; however,that products and services (current satellite imagery and communications)delivered from space-based platforms do not consistentlyreach our lower echelon units—those closest to the fight. Additionally,many of our adversaries understand our dependencies onspace and could take action to disrupt our ability to deliver productsand services to those engaged in the fight.If our strategic space systems cannot meet the immediate, realtimeneeds of our forces in contact, and if potential adversaries arefocusing on disrupting our space-delivered services and products,then we must find more effective means of delivering products andservices to our front-line units. “Big space” may not be the capabilityof choice. We may be entering an era where a mix of systemsand capabilities is necessary to meet the needs of the warfighter, atime when we must find new ways to ensure information flows toour lower echelon units.This article discusses why space is important to the soldier, andthe capabilities and attributes they need most from space systems.We also describe what US Army Space and Missile Defense Command/ArmyForces Strategic Command (USASMDC/ARSTRAT)is doing to explore other means of providing the capabilities andattributes the warfighter needs in order to sustain freedom of actionacross the battlefield.When the US Army thinks about space, we tend to think about itfrom the perspective of our operating concept. Army Field Manual3-0 describes a doctrine wherein commanders execute offensive,defensive, and stability operations simultaneously throughout thedepth of the operational area. We cannot achieve the versatility,agility, lethality, or interoperability required to carry out our doctrinewithout space capabilities. Space-based systems allow us tooperate across larger areas with fewer boots on the ground. Comparedto cold war deployment schemes of some 100-square miles,today’s brigade combat teams operate within sectors the size of thestate of New Jersey. This would not be possible without space support.In today’s environment, our small units must operate independentlyand semi-autonomously. On today’s battlefield, it is at thesquad, company, and battalion level where wars are won. Here,timely information enables optimal employment of our small unitsand enables adequate force protection. At the small unit level, ourspace-based services and products do not consistently reach the enduser—the commander in contact with the enemy.Our requirements—our warfighter’s requirements—are demandingwhen you consider the need for assuredness, persistence,and responsiveness. We are putting our troops in remote locationson terrain where mountains and valleys separate members of thesame combat unit. Under these conditions, terrestrial line-of-sightsystems may not give the small unit leaders the situational awarenessto operate with relative freedom of action. Any disruption inservice exposes our units to greater force protection risks.If we could bring in the ground commanders, those fighting thefight, and talk about their needs in combat, we doubt if they wouldbe concerned with whether a small or a conventional satellite isused to meet their requirements. We also doubt they would knowif a low Earth orbit or a geosynchronous orbit satellite best meetstheir needs. We do think they would say; they need persistent coverage—theyneed to talk to small teams deployed in complex terrain,they need information in real time—they need lower resolutiondata in 30 minutes more than they need higher resolution datain three hours. And, they would also tell us their greatest needs arein the forms of communications and intelligence, surveillance, andreconnaissance (ISR).So what are the attributes we need in our space systems? Ourtroops in combat need assuredness, persistence, and responsiveness.Assuredness: confidence we will get the products and serviceswe need. Persistence: there when needed for as long as needed.Responsiveness: the ability to task an asset in real-time for rapiddelivery of information to the troops in contact. These attributeswould seem inherent in our space systems. However, our architectures,concepts, and perhaps culture interfere with the delivery ofproducts and services from our space-based platforms to the lowerechelons.There are many reasons why products and services may not bedelivered to the small unit in a timely manner. We recognize thatour space assets are strategic in nature. They were designed andfielded to meet the strategic needs of the nation. We are, in effect,attempting to fulfill tactical needs with systems designed to meetstrategic requirements. We carefully guard the capabilities and5 High Frontier