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US Space Commander Charts Future Course

Gen. Ralph Eberhart, commander in chief of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Space Command
by Staff Sgt. Melanie Streeter
Air Force News Service
Charleston AFB - Feb 8, 2002
Though human involvement in space is not quite what some thought it would be by 2002, technology is rapidly heading in that direction.

Technology was the topic of discussion at the National Defense Industrial Association's Science and Engineering Technology Conference held at the North Charleston Convention Center near here Feb. 5 to 7.

Gen. Ralph Eberhart, commander in chief of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Space Command, spoke to a group representing the space industry about the importance of space in today's battlefield and how that importance will grow in the future.

"I think when we think of the future, whether of the armed forces or of our great nation, we can't help but think about space," Eberhart said.

Using space assets for future force enhancement was the first topic Eberhart covered. He said the Department of Defense must reach a point where space systems and technology support air, land and maritime forces in all their roles, from humanitarian and peacekeeping missions to the current war on terrorism.

Many of the space systems the DOD is using today were designed during, and for, the Cold War, Eberhart said.

"We have to figure out how to use these programs in ways never thought of," he said.

Global Positioning Satellite systems are also a very important current and future asset, Eberhart said.

"I don't think this nation even realizes how very important GPS has been in this decade," Eberhart said. "It's importance in navigation and timing systems is really taken for granted."

GPS technology is constantly updated, he said.

"We're taking what's required and bettering it by half," Eberhart said. "That doesn't mean we're bettering bombs by half, but any errors that occur won't be due to GPS."

Eberhart also talked about the need to defend the technology and resources the DOD has now, and to continue to improve those defenses in the future.

"People are watching very closely, trying to figure out ways to deny us technology," he said.

Network security is one of the technologies Eberhart said needs extra protection. Although the military is doing a good job of protecting its computer networks so far, he said that has to continue if the armed forces are to avoid some of the attacks seriously affecting corporate America.

Expanding communications bandwidth is another future goal, he said.

"Look at the global war on terrorism," Eberhart said. "General Tommy Franks and his forces are using 10 times (the bandwidth) we used in Desert Storm and four times what we used in Allied Force. I see that continuing to climb over time. We can always find ways to use bandwidth smarter, use all our resources smarter."

There are four pillars of space to focus on: space surveillance, protection, prevention and negation, Eberhart said.

"You've go to know what's up there," Eberhart said of surveillance. "We need to get (commanders in chief) more excited about space and its effects on the battlefield. We need to give it the right priority."

Space assets must be protected, he said, because the nation's enemies know how valuable those assets are and will try to find a way to deny their use.

Besides protecting those assets, Eberhart said technology must be developed to keep enemies from using U.S. assets for their own purposes.

The final pillar he discussed was negation.

"When most people hear negation, they think of space weapons," Eberhart said. But, there are other options with negation that don't call for physical destruction. One example he gave was attacking the enemies' communication and control networks.

For now, Eberhart said he believes space policy is on the right track for amazing things in years to come.

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Flexibility, Adaptability at Heart of Military Transformation
 Washington - Jan 31, 2002
A culture of change, flexibility and adaptability is more important to transforming the military than simply having new hardware, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told students Jan. 31 at the National Defense University here.



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