Space and the Theater Commander's War - Statistical Data Included

Joint Force Quarterly, Winter, 2000 by Thomas A. Doyne

The global nature of space presents a doctrinal dilemma. On one hand, the Air Force holds that a single commander should control both air and space forces for the theater command; but on the other, it acknowledges that SPACECOM, and not an air commander in theater, has operational control of space forces. This dilemma exists on all levels of Air Force doctrine.

AFDD 1 recognizes that the nature of space forces differentiates them from air forces and prevents transferring operational control to JFCs. However, the February 2000 edition of AFDD 2 states that "the responsibility of integrating space forces into the joint effort is normally delegated to the JFACC." When authorized by CINCSPACE, JFACC requests and coordinates employment of Air Force space assets through the commander of the Air Force component of SPACECOM, who provides space support through the aerospace operations center, which develops supporting plans for JFACC and establishes a daily space tasking order to control Air Force space assets.

AFFD 2 provides guidance for writing the Joint Aerospace Operation Plan, which stresses identifying enemy centers of gravity and vulnerabilities. It recommends that information on forces not assigned, such as SPACECOM elements, be entered in the friendly forces paragraph. It does specify that the paragraph on aerospace operations "should consider land, sea, air, space, special operations, and multinational" capabilities by the phase of a campaign. The pub does not address what happens when JFACC is not the air expeditionary force commander, nor does it consider the fact that the Air Force space commander does not exercise operational control over Army, Navy, national, commercial, or international satellite systems and cannot task them.

AFDD 2-2, Space Operations, articulates operational doctrine. Like its parent documents, it acknowledges that SPACECOM has operational control of space forces. However, it does touch on non-Air Force assets, stating that "flexibility and innovation on the part of the commander" are required to maximize effectiveness.

Spacepower is provided by many agencies, making synchronized support for warfighters difficult. Today command and control of space forces is provided to regional CINCs or designated JFCs by support teams who deploy to their respective areas within JTFs. Coordinating teams can be difficult. SPACECOM liaison officers serve with the national space community, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), and unified commands. It develops and issues mission type orders to components to coordinate and synchronize support for JTFs. It also provides coordination copies of orders to the national space community and DISA to help synchronize operations.

Doctrinal and Organizational Solutions

Current doctrine should be revised. Spacepower contributions to the overall campaign plan must be stated in the basic plan section of the operation plan and not simply relegated to Annex N and supporting plans. Spacepower must be integrated into operation plans and orders in the three following paragraphs: (1) situation--explaining that enemy and friendly centers of gravity analysis must include spacepower, (2) execution--indicating how spacepower contributes to accomplishing each phase of an operation, and (3) command and control--detailing the roles of military, civilian, and commercial satellite communications in command and control. Revising the basic guidance in both plans and orders will give space operations the proper emphasis.