General Eberhart came to Malmstrom Sept. 21 and attended a "Salute to the Community" dinner that night and was guest speaker at the base's annual Air Force Anniversary Ball Sept. 22. The general is commander in chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Space Command; commander of Air Force Space Command; and the Department of Defense Manager for Manned Space Flight Support Operations, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

"Whatever this nation does, wherever they do it, they're not going to leave home without us," the general explained while discussing the role his command plays in national defense and global stability. "The capabilities we provide in terms of intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and global communication are very important in the on-going Operation Enduring Freedom."

Operation Enduring Freedom is the military campaign to combat terrorism announced by President Bush following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and hijackings in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

The value of the command's high-tech data is now more useful than ever, General Eberhart said.

"The intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance imagery we're able to get is much easier to read," he said. The data is also sent to U.S. warfighters much more quickly thanks to how AFSPC operators receive the images from satellites and pass along the data to battle commanders.

The military satellites operated by the command now provide information the Department of Defense can no longer take from reconnaissance aircraft like the U-2 or SR-71. And those communication satellites enable the United States to remain a global power.

"There's no way we can have all the land lines and fiber optics we need laid out all over the world," said the former forward air controller. In 1970, General Eberhart logged 300 combat missions in Vietnam as a forward air controller, learning first-hand the value of combat communications.

The accuracy of the munitions used in Vietnam falls far short of the precision-guided munitions used today. That's due, in large part, the general said, to the Navstar Global Positioning System, or GPS. GPS is a space-based constellation of orbiting satellites that provides navigation data to military and civilian users all over the world. The GPS constellation is designed and operated as a 24-satellite system. GPS satellites orbit the earth every 12 hours, emitting continuous navigation signals.

"The reason we're able to be so precise and usually destroy a target on the first pass and not have to send our people back into harm's way is because the munitions are precision-guided," General Eberhart explained. The secure voice communication inside jet aircraft, which allows them to talk to other jets and people on the ground, is synchronized by GPS, he said.

As DOD leaders view the current global situation through systems overhead operated by AFSPC, General Eberhart said the vivid images seen on TV Sept. 11 remind all of us what we're fighting against.

"If we stop and think about those nearly 7,000 lives snuffed out, unsuspecting," he said, "what we do in terms of deploying forward, leaving family and friends for a period of time, pales compared to that tragedy."

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only