BOSTON


— The U.S. Navy’s decision last year to fold its primary space operations and requirements organization into a larger command is helping to create synergy that benefits a variety of the service’s missions, according to a Navy space officer.

Bringing space operations into Naval Network Warfare Command (Netwarcom)




has been particularly helpful to




information operations since




space is a critical enabler in




that mission area, according to Capt. Kevin Johnson, chief of space operations and warfighter integration at the Norfolk, Va.-based command.

Navy space




operations were handled by Naval Space Command in Dahlgren,




Va., until 2002, when that organization was merged with Naval Network Operations Command to create Naval Network and Space Operations Command. That organization was




absorbed by Netwarcom




in September 2006, Johnson said.





Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in San Diego continues to have responsibility for




space acquisition programs but takes into account system requirements provided by




Netwarcom




, Johnson said.

Netwarcom
provides space-related capabilities to




Navy




forces engaged in operations throughout




the world through the space cell in its Maritime Operations Center, which operates around the clock, Johnson said.

Space is a relatively small part of Netwarcom’s mission. According to a Netwarcom fact sheet,




the command anticipates a 2008 budget of $760 million, with $500 million going to network-related tasks, $122 million for intelligence, $57 million for information operations




and $45 million for




drug
interdiction




. Space




is slated to receive just $35 million.



Moreover, space professionals




comprise




a relatively small portion




of the Navy’s active-duty roster of roughly




10,000 personnel at Netwarcom.




The Navy has 850 active duty personnel in its space cadre




and 310 space billets throughout the service




, Johnson said.







Johnson said the fact that there are more space cadre members than billets enables the




service to




rotate the




personnel through other positions, which




helps make them well-rounded leaders. The Navy is




reviewing its current balance of space personnel and billets




, but major changes are not likely, he said.



Giving its space personnel




experience outside their primary




field also helps them better apply




their space expertise to the Navy’s various missions, Johnson said.

Netwarcom
is responsible for educating naval forces on the use of space capabilities through exercises and other training sessions. The command co-sponsors exercises including Trident Warrior, which annually examines technology that can be rapidly adopted to improve the decision-making of Navy forces.





As the Navy moves forward with space-related war games




,




recent events like the Chinese anti-satellite demonstration have prompted the service to




inject more realism into the




exercises, he said.

While




past exercises have taken threats to space systems into account, these




often were not treated seriously,




with officers often assuming their space capabilities would not be compromised, Johnson said. The




Jan.




11 demonstration, in which China destroyed one of its aging weather satellites with a ground-launched missile




, changed that, he said.







Exercises now devote significant attention to mitigating loss of space capabilities such as




satellite communications




, he said.





Netwarcom
also is keeping its eyes on the systems under development through the Pentagon’s Operationally Responsive Space effort, Johnson said. The Navy hopes that this effort will yield systems including sensors that could help its operations in open-ocean as well as through straits and choke points, he said, though he did not give specifics




.