Here is a much more accurate article than the one you posted. Col Cal

Hutto is my boss. Having worked this personnaly for the last 4 years, this

captures the entire program much better. We prepared Gen Lord for his

testimony at this same meeting and he did fine. The criticism of Teets is

focused on the fact that he has been named the lead for consolidating the

DoD Space Cadre. Of course, the USAF Space Cadre is the largest of the

services, at last count: USAF ~ 10000, Army ~ 850, Navy ~ 450, Marines ~ 19.

We have some units that are larger than other services Cadres!

We are working closely with the other services and Teets' office to

eliminate redundancies and cooperate on education courses. Another big goal

is to enhance our Space Culture and a Space Warrior Ethos, something that

doesn't happen overnight. Progress is being made, but we still have a ways

to go. This article is in this week's AW&ST.   Thanks, Jim, JBurling@scitor.com

MOLDING SPACE WARRIORS

A program of education, training and experience aims to shape U.S. milspace

elites Aviation Week & Space Technology, July 26, 2004

By William B. Scott, Colorado Springs

U.S. Air Force Space Command is identifying approximately 10,000 USAF

officer, enlisted and civilian personnel who will form a professional "space

cadre"--tomorrow's milspace experts and leaders.

The initiative is in response to the so-called Rumsfeld Space Commission's

2001 report, which noted: "The [Defense Dept.] is not yet on course to

develop the space cadre the nation needs." The report faulted a weak space

culture characterized by unfocused career-development, and found a need for

relevant education and training "to develop and sustain a cadre of highly

competent and motivated military and civilian space professionals."

During the last two years, a dedicated AFSPC task force set up a

human-resource management and educational infrastructure that enables

identification of certain skills and experience, and established a logical

career-development path for cadre members. In short, the command is

preparing to "grow its own" space professionals, according to an officer

here.

Last month, Lt. Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, U.S. Joint Staff director of

operations, criticized the milspace community for a space officer's actions

that led to "unintended consequences" during recent combat operations (AW&ST

July 5, p. 30). Although details have not been disclosed, AFSPC officials

suggested that the incident's actual impact on combat campaigns "is a matter

of perception." They would not discuss whether the event in question

involved "space" or "information operations," either. Regardless, it focused

considerable attention on AFSPC plans for cultivating a "space warrior

culture."

The general's stinging comments were taken as a backhanded validation that

milspace specialists and operators have, indeed, made the leap to "warrior"

status. Few now question that today's space capabilities are essential for

successful land, sea and air combat operations.

Schwartz and other critics may be a bit premature, though. Historically, it

has taken about 20 years for any new military community to develop its own

cadre of specialists and leaders. In the late 1960s, the intercontinental

ballistic missile force was populated by ex-B-47 bomber navigators, not

seasoned "missile warfighters."

Only in recent years have officers who started their careers in underground

missile launch silos reached top command levels.

AFSPC commander Gen. Lance Lord is one of those officers. He notes: "This

[space] command was formed in 1982. We're now 22 years old [and] have

colonels and generals-to-be who have grown up in the command. We used to

bring people in from the outside . . . but we will [now] be able to grow our

own leadership."

To that end, the nascent cadre is being drawn from space professionals in

USAF active-duty, reserve and civilian forces. Initially, people with

expertise in nine categories will be assigned Space Experience Codes

(Specs), which provide more management visibility for career development

purposes than USAF's long-standing Air Force Specialty Codes. The nine

categories and associated experience comprise:

*Satellite Systems--navigation (GPS), communication spacecraft and the

satellite control network. These are "people who know something about flying

satellites," said Col. Cal Hutto, AFSPC chief of force development and

readiness. *Nuclear--primarily ICBMs. *Spacelift--launch vehicles and

ranges. *ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance)--Space-Based

Radar, environmental-sensing aircraft and most classified systems under

National Reconnaissance Office purview. *Kinetic Effects--primarily missile

defense. *Space Warfare Command and Control--the process of integrating

space across other warfighting operations. Those having experience serving

as space officers in Air Operations Centers would have this code.

*Warning--space- and ground-based missile warning and fusion systems. *Space

Control--systems and strategies associated with defensive and offensive

counterspace operations. *Space "Other"--research labs and other

space-related programs and experience. "[Specs] give us the capability to

measure our breadth and depth [of skills and experience]," Hutto explained.

A fighter pilot's career experience provides an illustrative analogy. A

pilot who's flown the T-38, F-16 and F-117 would have a three-aircraft

breadth of experience. The number of hours flown on each type is a measure

of expertise or depth of experience.

"This will be able to identify who's in the [space cadre] inventory and what

their skills are, so we can say: 'Here's our point of departure. What do we

have to do to fully develop this person?' This [categorization] is a

critical first step," Lord says.

The cadre's career-development process leans heavily on education,

encompassing numerous courses for both operators and acquisition

specialists. For example, the Space 100 course--which will be fully up and

running in October--is a six-week overview of space principles and systems,

aimed at a junior person newly assigned to a space-related job. Space

200--taught at the Space Warfare Center (SWC) here--is a four-week session

for mid-grade people, and focuses on operational issues.

It covers "how you take requirements and build a satellite, [then] fly . . .

and fight with that system," Hutto says.

Finally, Space 300, taught at the SWC's Space Operations School, will be

aimed at personnel in the 14-15th years of their career, preparing them for

senior leadership roles. Covering strategic subjects such as policy and

doctrine, the first prototype courses will begin in October 2005.

Achieving three distinct levels of education, training and experience

requirements will lead to certification of cadre members. A certified space

professional will be awarded a unique badge attesting to his or her

accomplishments and experience.

"We'll have a new badge that will unify this business," Lord says. "It will

be awarded as a result of a certification process [and] will be like [pilot]

wings. Once you're certified, you get to wear it [throughout a career].

It'll be distinctive." Time and experience in a space-related field will add

a star, then a wreath to the badge.

Final USAF headquarters approval of the space-badge concept is pending.

Ultimately, this carefully crafted "space professional development" process

will create a body of skilled, experienced people who will both operate

complex milspace systems and groom well-qualified leaders.

"Once we have this [system in place], we can look into the future and say:

'I need 100 majors with space control experience.' A look at the inventory

[might show] that we only have 50 captains with that experience," Hutto

says. "Knowing that, we can work with 'force development' to make sure we

have an inventory large enough to fill that future requirement. That's space

cadre development.

"Looking back at our past, our inventory of skills has been pretty good. But

our use of [them] hasn't been too good, because we didn't have the insight

to what those skills were."

The command has about $9 million this year to fund education and space cadre

development efforts. Funding levels are slated to increase to about $22

million by the end of the current five-year defense plan.