For most, space policy is still more science fiction than reality—the stuff of a galaxy far, far away. People imagine laser-toting gunships and interplanetary bases, not airmen at consoles adjusting satellites in orbit. Those perceptions have persisted through about 18 months of pressure from the White House to make the Space Force a reality. Cheered by years-long proponents in Congress, legislators approved the new service as part of the Air Force in the fiscal 2020 defense policy and spending bills. The US Space Force was officially launched Dec. 20, 2019. As Gen. John W. Raymond and others from Air Force Space Command—the nearly four-decade-old organization that oversaw space personnel and programs and now forms the basis of the Space Force—begin to define and build the fledgling service, the Pentagon will have to dispel misconceptions and get to the real work of bringing in members.
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten, now two months into the job of second-highest ranking Pentagon officer, said Jan. 17 he will tackle three main priorities: giving sound military advice to Defense Secretary Mark Esper and President Donald Trump, revamping acquisition, and improving deeply rooted personnel problems like sexual assault and suicide. Hyten, who spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discussed his shift from serving as the four-star head of US Strategic Command to a post where he holds a bird’s eye view of people and programs across the Defense Department.
At least 11 US service members have been flown out of Iraq for medical care following the Jan. 7 Iranian ballistic missile attack on Al Asad AB. Despite initial claims that there were no American injuries in the attack, US Central Command and senior Pentagon officials said many Americans were evaluated for concussion-like symptoms after 11 ballistic missiles impacted the flightline and multiple buildings inside the sprawling base. Eight service members were taken to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to receive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and three more were taken to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait for further evaluation, according to CENTCOM.
The Pentagon’s review of its force structure in Africa, and the likely reduction of deployed personnel, is already meeting harsh pushback on Capitol Hill, even before the review is completed. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has ordered a “zero-based” review of US forces deployed globally, with the intent to shift the bulk of the attention to the Indo-Pacific. As a result, the US mission in Africa will be an “economy of force,” meaning the least amount of personnel and resource to meet mission objectives, Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a meeting with his French counterpart in Brussels. Key lawmakers sent a letter to Esper dated Jan. 15 expressing concerns about the reported drawdown. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) wrote they are particularly concerned about the reduction of forces in the Sahel.
NATO on Jan. 17 received the first two of five Air Ground Surveillance system drones at NAS Sigonella, Italy. The AGS system, a variant of the RQ-4 Global Hawk already in use by multiple nations, will be used by NATO to watch over Europe, and it will also conduct operations in the Sahel region of Africa and the Middle East as tasked, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a ceremony. A collection of 15 NATO allies, including the US, acquired the aircraft. About 600 personnel will fly and maintain it, largely from the main operating base at Sigonella along with small groups of personnel in Belgium and Germany, according to NATO.
