Space Efforts Are Crucial To U.S., General Says

The Oklahoman | March 29, 2005 | Nick Trougakos

[Stand Watch Listen]

Even though many Oklahomans may not know it, the military team commanded by Gen. Lance W. Lord plays a vital role in their everyday lives.

If you have an in-car navigation system, get your television signal from a satellite dish or pay for gas at the pump with your credit card, you've got Lord's team to thank.

The four-star general commands the U.S. Air Force Space Command -- the organization in charge of the country's satellite fleet and overall space capabilities.

Lord, in Oklahoma City on Monday for an ROTC conference, said space is vitally important to the military and the public.

"America needs space," he said. "Everything we do, literally day-to-day, flows through space in some way."

In addition to some of the modern conveniences many Americans enjoy, the satellites that orbit the earth provide a striking advantage to U.S. military forces, Lord said.

Bombers are able to use precise targeting, troops are able to communicate from anywhere on the battlefield and enemy forces can be tracked, thanks to the signals transmitted through space.

Lord said protecting American space superiority is one of his command's top priorities.

"We saw Saddam Hussein try to jam GPS (global positioning system) signals during Operation Iraqi Freedom," he said. "We've got to be capable of understanding that, detecting that and then taking the right kind of actions to prevent somebody trying to use that against us. That's all part of our space superiority strategy."

The Air Force Space Command -- made up of about 40,000 employees and operating on an $11 billion annual budget -- was established in 1982 with a focus on missile warning and space surveillance during the Cold War.

In the years to come, the mission expanded to include support of the country's fighting forces.

Now the command administers a wide range of satellites, communications systems, ground-based radars and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Lord said the elaborate network provides advantages not only to the military but to everyday people -- even farmers in Oklahoma.

"Some farmers have lots of acreage," Lord said. "(They) download maps of their farm. They know what areas need to be fertilized and then they're able to program their tractors with the GPS coordinates and actually plow and plant and harvest without somebody in the cab of the tractor."

Most importantly, though, the country's space presence can and does help save the lives of American troops.

"Space takes the search out of search and rescue," Lord said. "A Navy airplane got shot down and we were able to pinpoint where the explosion occurred and where the individual was shot down. We were able to get him out less than an hour after he was shot down."

Examples like that show the importance of the Air Force Space Command, and the importance of maintaining an edge in space, the general said.

"We have to take a space superiority mindset," Lord said. "That's my job -- to guard that and make sure we do our best."

[Fast1]

For that we need new no bullshit organization and space vehicles and at the rate we do things now days that would be a 30 year project.

[KevinDavis]

Amen!!!