Leaders outline space-cadre strategy

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PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFPN) --  Earlier this summer, Undersecretary of the Air Force Peter B. Teets and Gen. Lance W. Lord, commander of Air Force Space Command, outlined for Congress their strategy to develop the professional space cadre the nation needs to acquire and operate future space systems.

One of the first things they identified was the need to determine who members of the space cadre are and how to keep them moving in the right direction.

"Air Force Space Command has an aggressive career-field tracking plan, matched with an educational plan, to move space power forward," General Lord said. “We’ve identified every individual who qualifies as a ‘space professional’ and created a method to track and differentiate them from other Air Force specialties.”

Initially, space professional development was focused on officers, but it was expanded to enlisted Airmen, government civilians, reservists and Air National Guardsmen.

Determining who would be defined as a space professional was one of the toughest challenges in establishing a base of space professionals, General Lord said.

“At this point, we define space professionals as all specialties that research, design, develop, acquire, operate, sustain or enhance our space systems,” he said.

These specialties include a broad range of career fields such as communications, intelligence, maintenance, logistics and weather.

A subset of the overall group is referred to as the space cadre, and it consists of scientists, engineers, program managers and operators who are responsible for taking military space systems from “concept to employment.” This smaller group is the focus of initial space professional development efforts, and so far consists of nearly 10,000 people.

As the program continues to evolve, individuals from other career fields may migrate into the cadre.

Along with identifying members of the space cadre, a process was also developed to track people’s unique space expertise, based on nine distinct categories of space experience codes. They are: satellite systems, nuclear systems (ICBMs), spacelift, missile warning, space control, intelligence/surveillance and reconnaissance, kinetic effects (ballistic missile defense), space warfare command and control (AOCs), and a general category for all other space experience.

More than 7,000 active-duty officer and enlisted records have been evaluated, and each person’s history of space experience codes along with their current level of certification is documented.

“The next step in this process is the development of a space-education continuum, specifically targeted to members of the space cadre and offered at recurring points throughout their careers,” General Lord said.

This portion of the program will be similar to professional military education, with the courses designed to prepare people for progressively higher levels of responsibility. By periodically bringing cadre people together, the space-education continuum will also serve to help nurture a stronger sense of “space culture,” a particular area of concern for the 2001 Space Commission. So far, the catalogue of courses includes Space 100, Space 200, Space 300 and Advanced Space Training for the various operational space systems.

The culmination of these education and training initiatives together, will be the standup of a national security space institute.

“Our goal is that the institute will transform our existing space operations school into a (Department of Defense)-wide center of excellence for space-academic training,” General Lord said. “In addition, we will partner with a consortium of civilian institutions of higher learning to leverage their existing academic expertise in the areas necessary to develop our space professional community.”

Space professionals are already integrated and bringing space capability to combatant commanders and combat air forces. About 135 people have graduated from the Space Weapons Instructor Course at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. They are integrated throughout the Air Force providing space expertise in and out of theater. There are also about 500 people who have experience with space integration work in theater, and more than 1,600 people from AFSPC have deployed for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Although the space professional development program has come a long way, General Lord said there is still much to do.

“Nothing happens overnight,” he said. “We’ve still got a great deal of work ahead of us, and it will take everyone’s help. Space systems and capabilities are integral to our success in fighting today’s battles and the linchpin to all planning and execution for success in tomorrow’s battles. Each and every space professional’s contribution to the fight is vital to our success.” (Courtesy of AFSPC News Service)