by Col. Les Kodlick Air Force Space Command Public Affairs
5/21/2007 – LONDON — Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, Air Force Space Command vice commander, highlighted the world’s reliance on space capabilities and the need to protect these systems during a presentation at the 2007 Royal United Services Institute Airpower Conference here May 17.
The theme of the two-day gathering, “Agile, Adaptable, Capable: Challenges and Opportunities for Air Power Topics,” fit nicely into discussions as the three-star general made it clear to those in attendance that “space is no longer a sanctuary.”
“We must assume that potential adversaries recognize the asymmetrical advantages space confers upon the United States and its allies, and will most assuredly seek to diminish or match these advantages in the future,” he said.
During his 25-minute talk, the space command general emphasized that improved space situational awareness — knowing what is in space, knowing its purpose and knowing who put it up there — is key to preserving space capabilities, which are crucial not only to the U.S. armed forces, but also to allied and coalition forces.
“Indeed, it is now inconceivable that a modern military force could go to war — much less achieve victory — without space,” General Klotz said.
Recognizing that protecting and preserving space effects is crucial to warfighting, General Klotz announced the imminent stand-up of the new Department of Defense Operationally Response Space organization at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., May 21, which will be responsible for the development of ORS concepts. The idea behind ORS is to quickly augment and replenish existing space capabilities to ensure military commanders have what they need, when they need it.
Participants at the RUSI conference discussed a wide range of other airpower-related topics from global security to expeditionary campaigns. It was evident other countries faced similar challenges, issues and constraints.
Air chiefs shared stories about the immense pride they have in their airmen and their airmen’s mission accomplishments. They also discussed the importance of education, training, readiness, retention and how to meet mission requirements in a resource-constrained environment.
The international conference drew approximately 320 attendees, including air and space industry experts, academicians, think-tank analysts and senior military professionals.
Among them were more than 20 guest speakers to include prominent leaders such as U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General T. Michael Moseley, United Kingdom’s Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, French Chief of the Air Staff General Stephane Abrial, and Australia’s Air Vice Marshall John Quaife.
Sir Peter Rickets, Permanent Undersecretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK, commended RUSI organizers for including the discussion on space, and encouraged conference organizers and attendees to think more about the importance of this medium to national security objectives.
RUSI was founded in 1831, the oldest such institute in the world, at the initiative of the Duke of Wellington. Its original mission was to study naval and military science, what Clausewitz called his theory ‘on war.’ In recent years, RUSI has broadened its charter to include all issues of defense and security, including terrorism and the ideologies that foster it.
