US Military Chief Addresses 'Space As Contested Environment'

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US Military Chief Addresses 'Space As Contested Environment'

http://www.maxwell.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123142025
Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base
March 30, 2009
'Space as a contested environment' debuts
by Capt. Ben Sakrisson
Air University Public Affairs


-"We have to think about what we would do if our systems in space were attacked.
How we determine attribution for the attack, and respond in appropriate manner.
We also must consider how to create a strategic environment that makes attacks
and their consequences unacceptable - a new thinking on deterrence."

-"[A]bove all other communities, the military needs to understand implications
of space as a contested environment and how to protect America's interests."

-Air University's NSSC and AWC, in concert with the Air Force Space Command
chair to AU, and the National Security Space Institute worked for the past year
with military educators and the Joint Staff at the Pentagon to introduce a
space-focused SAE into military education programs; eventually leading to the
issuance of "Space as a Contested Environment."

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A new Special Area of Emphasis topic titled "Space as
a Contested Environment," was introduced by U.S. military officials here March
30 at the 25th National Space Symposium.

Special Areas of Emphasis are established by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, to address areas of great importance to the joint
military community. This SAE highlights the space domain's emergence as an
environment where U.S. operations and superiority may be challenged.

"America's way of life is dependent on space," said the director of Air
University's National Space Studies Center, Col. Sean D. McClung. "Many decades
ago space was thought of as a sanctuary, we are entering into a new era where
space is a contested environment."

The forum introduced the SAE which is expected to impact Joint Professional
Military Education curricula and teachings at military education institutions
across the entire Department of Defense.

"We have to think about what we would do if our systems in space were attacked,"
Colonel McClung said. "How we determine attribution for the attack, and respond
in appropriate manner. We also must consider how to create a strategic
environment that makes attacks and their consequences unacceptable - a new
thinking on deterrence."
....
The scope of the SAE reaches beyond the Department of Defense seeking to
catalyze thought on the effect of space operations on the interdependent trio of
civil, commercial and military end users.

"Not only the military needs to understand the implications of space as a
contested environment, but civil and commercial organizations as well need to
understand the impact on their ability to do business as usual," Colonel McClung
said. "But, above all other communities, the military needs to understand
implications of space as a contested environment and how to protect America's
interests."

The nominal level of attention by the U.S. military to the nation's dependencies
upon and vulnerability of space capabilities drew congressional attention in
2006. This led to Air University's self-examination on space education in 2007;
which noted internal deficiencies requiring revisions of space curricula in Air
Force Professional Military Education. Similar deficiencies were found in space
education across the Department of Defense by an Air War College study. This
disturbing trend culminated with the NSSC initiating the effort to have CJCS
establish an SAE on space in 2008.

Air University's NSSC and AWC, in concert with the Air Force Space Command chair
to AU, and the National Security Space Institute worked for the past year with
military educators and the Joint Staff at the Pentagon to introduce a
space-focused SAE into military education programs; eventually leading to the
issuance of "Space as a Contested Environment."

The forum was attended by individuals across the space spectrum from members of
the DoD and space industry to educators and government officials. Attendance at
the presentation was limited at 100 people and due to heavy interest and seating
considerations many interested people were turned away.

This event leads into an Air Force Research Institute Symposium on "Space as a
Contested Environment," at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., in November.

(Editor's Note: This is the first article in a series of reports from the 25th
National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.)
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