July 14, 2020
Stovepipes in space: How the US can overcome bureaucracy to improve capabilities
With our dependence on space-based systems growing, and threats to them accelerating nearly as fast, the new U.S. Space Force is good for the country. A military service fighting to maintain our vital on-orbit capabilities, even while they are under attack, will be a key member of the joint war-fighting team.
Overcoming this impediment will require a personal push from the entire leadership of the Department of Defense, led by the secretary, as well as the intelligence community, led by the director of national intelligence.
Gen. John “Jay” Raymond and his staff are working a wide range of tasks to stand up the Space Force. They include important ongoing responsibilities such as space situational awareness and commercial satellite contracting, as well as planning for and exercising defensive and offensive missions in wartime. However, their efforts are made less efficient and effective by one huge impediment: the over-classification and compartmentation of both program and intelligence space information.
Overcoming this impediment will require a personal push from the entire leadership of the Department of Defense, led by the secretary, as well as the intelligence community, led by the director of national intelligence.
Read the full article in Defense News.
More from CNAS
-
Reshaping the U.S. Military with a New Force Planning Construct
Commentary
The nation is falling short, and the Department of Defense (DoD) can and must do more to help close the gap....
By James N. Miller
-
Enhancing Forward Defense: The Role of Allies and Partners in the Indo-Pacific
Commentary
An effective next NDS requires a clear plan for marshaling and organizing the efforts of U.S. allies and partners in new ways....
By Charles Edel & Siddharth Mohandas
-
Uniting the Techno-Democracies
Commentary
The world’s advanced democracies have something the autocracies don’t: a long history of multilateral cooperation for the benefit of all....
By Jared Cohen & Richard Fontaine
-
Harnessing Military Talent to Compete in the 21st Century
Commentary
Developments in technology mean that the DoD must update its processes to attract, recruit, and harness talent to apply skill sets where they are most needed....
By Emma Moore
