Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said last week it’s “very likely” that combat forces will be among those units that he allows to return home starting this summer. Speaking at a National Journal/Newseum event in Washington, D.C., Petraeus said he is still drawing up options on which troops may withdraw from Afghanistan once the planned drawdown of forces beings in July. The plan probably will call for most of those going home to come from support functions, he noted. A “small group” at ISAF headquarters is developing the plan, he said during the March 18 event.
As commercial companies, universities, and research agencies develop new approaches to operating satellites at lower and lower altitudes, the Space Force is taking notice and considering how it might leverage those advances in both the near and long term.