Integrating space into joint warfighting: continuing the march - Air Force secretary James G. Roche - Transcript

Dr. James G. Roche, secretary of the Air Force

Remarks at the National Reconnaissance Office Space Warfighter Conference dinner, Chantilly, Va., July 14, 2003

Thanks Pete (Hon. Peter Teets, Undersecretary of the Air Force). I'm pleased to have the opportunity to participate in this event, and I'm honored to address this august group of leaders on a topic that is near and dear to my heart--integrating air and space capabilities into joint warfighting. Actually, closer to my heart these days is integrating air, space and ground in joint warfighting. And unless all of you get to work on the campaign to oppose my nomination as Secretary of the Army, it may soon be of even more interest to me than it is today. Seriously, for our agency and joint colleagues in the audience tonight, the Air Force leaders here will tell you that I am 100 percent supportive of the President's nomination because, like so many of them, I serve where I can best help our armed forces. But, as General Jumper enjoys pointing out, this "old salt" has really enjoyed his time as an "aging airman."

As many of you are aware, we've been engaged in a wide-ranging effort to adapt the Air Force--and the Department of Defense--to the era in which we find ourselves--to meet the threats we face now, and to be prepared to defeat those that will emerge over the next several decades. And, sometimes our past illuminates our way forward, for example, with close air support--more on that later. As airmen, we have been evolving our organizations, concepts of operations, and technology for several decades now--all with the objective of improving our ability to generate overwhelming and strategically compelling effects from air and space. It is our heritage to adapt--to develop skilled airmen, to move technology to warfighting, and to integrate our capabilities and organizations to produce effects on the battlefield that our combatant commanders need. Our recent achievements in Iraq, Afghanistan and in defending the homeland for nearly two years now, have validated this heritage--and your relentless efforts. And for that, each of you should be very proud.

Tonight, I'll be brief in my comments, first, because that wonderful meal should be enjoyed over coffee and light conversation. But more important, if I say too much, we run the risk of Dave MacGhee (commander, Air Force Doctrine Center) attempting to write counter-arguments into Air Force doctrine and coming to CORONA this fall with yet more slides to fit into his allotted time.

There are several points that bear mentioning as we work to build the links between Air Force warfighters and our National Security Space leaders. I particularly like the objectives you've established for this conference: strengthening relationships, understanding capabilities, discussing how we integrate Air and Space, and, most important, identifying issues that we need to address as a corporate Air Force. The result of your work this week will be important pieces of the puzzle we are putting together as we move forward from OIF. But, please never lose sight of why this integration is so important--our combatant commanders are depending on us.

The task of dissecting the lessons learned from Operation Iraqi Freedom has become a growth industry of late. As the variety of think tanks, interest groups, and defense subcultures race to define the lessons of this recent conflict, we need to avoid defining those lessons through the prism of our special interests. We need to draw conclusions that contribute to America's overriding national objectives versus those that may be more appropriately interpreted as post-conflict posturing by one service or agency.

Many of us agree on the major lessons from this most recent conflict and why we were so successful.

First, this was the first war that executed a campaign as designed by the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986: a truly joint warfighting effort from planning to execution. That's not a trivial point. Air, ground, maritime, and space forces working together--at the same time for the same objective--and, not just because they occupy the same battlespace--exactly the objective Secretary Rumsfeld is pursuing. Think about that for a moment: Combat Air Forces--Air Force/Navy/Marines, Army Tactical Missile System and Patriot units, coalition air forces, and space in a combined Air Tasking Order. Wow!

Next, it is quite clear to all concerned that ground forces were able to bypass major enemy formations for two reasons: First, our precision systems and weapons were and are very lethal--and plentiful. And, as (Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff) General Peter Pace noted, because of the "trust our ground forces had in precise and timely airpower." We're proud that our warrior brethren would share this sentiment.

Generals Jumper and Foglesong worked very closely with our ground counterparts after Operation Anaconda to make sure we didn't repeat the mistakes that were made there. We refer to it as a "wake-up call." Both Army and Air Force learned from this sad episode--and changed. For example, in Iraq, we had unprecedented coordination with the land component commander, with Major General Dan Leaf (Director of Operational Capability Requirements) working "up close and personal" with the Combined Forces Land Component Commander to ensure air and space forces were fully integrated with our Army and Marine counterparts, as well as British troops.