ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Space Force on Dec. 12 unveiled an overhaul of its command structure that consolidates two large organizations under a three-star general.
The name of the new organization, U.S. Space Forces-Space, is a bit of a mouthful, intended to capture the unit’s strong focus on meeting the needs of U.S. Space Command.
Whereas the Space Force is a military service, U.S. Space Command is a Department of Defense unified combatant command responsible for planning and conducting military operations in the space domain. The command has representatives from all military branches, including the Space Force, from the U.S. intelligence community and several foreign allies.
U.S. Space Forces-Space was officially activated Dec. 6 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. It combines what was previously two organizations: the Joint Task Force Space Defense, and the Combined Force Space Component Command.
The unit’s commander, Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess, is dual-hatted. He is responsible to organize, train and equip units for the Space Force, and he is also in charge of U.S. Space Command’s component that oversees all space forces, whether they are from the Space Force or any other military branch.
Previously, U.S. Space Command’s two components were run by separate generals. Both will transition under Schiess.
The consolidation should improve the Space Force’s ability to deploy space-based assets quickly and effectively, Schiess said during a panel discussion at the Space Force Association’s Spacepower conference.
It also should streamline support for joint military operations reliant on space-based assets, he said. With terrestrial forces heavily reliant on space-based GPS, communications, and intelligence, the Space Force faces a constant demand for reliable, ubiquitous capabilities.
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