United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command
The United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) of the United States Army. The command was established in 1997. The current USASMDC commander is Lieutenant General Daniel L. Karbler[2] with Senior Enlisted Advisor Command Sergeant Major John W. Foley.
| Space and Missile Defense Command | |
|---|---|
Shoulder Sleeve Insignia | |
| Active | 1 October 1997 – present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Part of | United States Space Command United States Strategic Command |
| Headquarters | Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, U.S. |
| Website | www |
| Commanders | |
| Commanding General | Lieutenant General Daniel L. Karbler[1] |
| Deputy Commanding General for Operations | Brigadier General Isaac J. Peltier |
| Command Sergeant Major | Command Sergeant Major John W. Foley |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive Unit Insignia | |
The Army Space Command (ARSPACE) stood up in April 1988 as a field operating agency of the Deputy Chief of Staff (of the Army) for Operations and Plans.[3] As the Army component of U.S. Space Command, ARSPACE was to provide the Army perspective in planning for Department of Defense space support and ensure the integration of Army requirements into joint planning for space support and "conduct planning for DoD space operations in support of Army strategic, operational and tactical missions."
A relatively small organization, it was soon put to the test. The new command was instrumental in bringing space assets to U.S. Army forces during Operation Desert Storm. Following the war, new operational missions, such as the Army Space Support Teams and the Joint Tactical Ground Stations, became key elements of the Army space program.
Organizationally however, ARSPACE remained a command, a Tables of Distribution and Allowances, or TDA, organization with offices and directorates according to mission, rather than an Army operational Table of Organization and Equipment unit. This changed on 1 May 1995. On that date, ARSPACE's Military Satellite Communications Directorate or MILSATCOM Directorate became the 1st Satellite Control, or SATCON, Battalion—the first Army battalion with an operational mission tied to space systems and capabilities.
Structure Edit
The SMDC is made up of several components, Active Army and full-time Army National Guard, due to the 24-hour a day, 7-day a week, 365-day a year nature of SMDC's mission:[4]
- U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) Headquarters and the Force Development Integration Center co-located with the Missile Defense Agency on Redstone Arsenal, Alabama
- U.S. Army SMDC/ARSTRAT [4] satellite site located on Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado
- 1st Space Brigade,[2][5] Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado
- 100th Missile Defense Brigade (GMD),[9] Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado
- 49th Missile Defense Battalion,[10] Alaska Army National Guard, Fort Greely, Alaska
- Satellite Operations Brigade[11] is transferring to the Space Force[12]
- 53rd Signal Battalion (SATCON) becoming 53rd Space Operations Squadron, USSF; mission transfer under way August 15, 2022[13]
- Satellite Communications Directorate
- Space and Missile Defense Technical Center (SMDTC)
- Space and Missile Defense Battle Lab (SMDBL)[14]
The 117th Space Battalion has a training, readiness, and oversight (TRO) relationship with the 1st Space Brigade but is not actually part of it, as of 2018–19.
- Technical Center, based in Huntsville, Alabama;
- U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll/Reagan Test Site (USAKA/RTS), in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and at Wake Island
- High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF), at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
Space and Missile Defense Acquisition Center (SMDAC)
- other directorates
History Edit
Design work for the Safeguard System anti-ballistic missile complex began in 1968. The initial ground breaking occurred in 1970. The test period began in September 1973 and concluded with the equipment readiness date. Four and half years after the initial contracts were signed, the completed facility was turned over to the government. On 27 September 1974, at the Missile Site Radar Complex near Nekoma, North Dakota, and at the Ballistic Missile Defense Center at NORAD, Cheyenne Mountain, the Safeguard facilities were officially transferred to the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Defense Systems Command after a four and a half year construction project by ten companies.[15]
Previously the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensors Project Office (JLENS) based in Huntsville, Alabama[16] was part of SMDC's Space and Missile Defence Acquisition Center. However, after continuing problems with the programme, the fiscal 2017 budget for the JLENS program was cut from the requested $45 million to $2.5 million. According to Defense News, the "nearly unanimous lack of funding for the program spells death for JLENS". The blimps are being kept in storage and the small budget being used to close out the program, according to Defense News.[17]
Other parts of the previous Space and Missile Defense Acquisition Center included:
- High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF), at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
- Army Space Program Office (ASPO) in Alexandria, Virginia
- Ballistic Missile Targets Joint Project Office (BMTJPO) based in Huntsville, Alabama
The United States Army Futures Command, formed 24 August 2018, gives priority to modernization of air and missile defense.[18]: minute 6:07 [19][20][21] Cross-functional teams[22][23] were instituted to oversee the modernization effort[24][25] in the areas of hypersonic systems,[26][27][28] maneuver SHORAD (M-SHORAD)[29] and Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS).[30]
List of commanding generals Edit
| No. | Commanding General[31] | Term | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | |
| Commanding General, U.S. Army Strategic Defense Command | |||||
| 1 | Lieutenant General John F. Wall (born 1931) | 1 July 1985 | 24 May 1988 | 2 years, 328 days | |
| - | Brigadier General Robert L. Stewart (born 1942) Acting | 24 May 1988 | 11 July 1988 | 48 days | |
| 2 | Lieutenant General Robert D. Hammond (1933–2014) | 11 July 1988 | 30 June 1992 | 3 years, 355 days | |
| - | Brigadier General William J. Schumacher (1938–2021) Acting | 30 June 1992 | 31 July 1992 | 31 days | |
| Commanding General, U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command | |||||
| 3 | Lieutenant General Donald M. Lionetti (1940–2019) | 24 August 1992 | 6 September 1994 | 2 years, 13 days | |
| 4 | Lieutenant General Jay M. Garner (born 1938) | 6 September 1994 | 7 October 1996 | 2 years, 31 days | |
| 5 | Lieutenant General Edward G. Anderson III | 7 October 1996 | 1 October 1997 | 359 days | |
| Commanding General, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command | |||||
| 5 | Lieutenant General Edward G. Anderson III | 1 October 1997 | 6 August 1998 | 309 days | |
| - | Colonel Steven W. Flohr Acting | 6 August 1998 | 1 October 1998 | 56 days | |
| 6 | Lieutenant General John P. Costello (1947–2010) | 1 October 1998 | 28 March 2001 | 2 years, 178 days | |
| - | Brigadier General John M. Urias Acting | 28 March 2001 | 30 April 2001 | 33 days | |
| 7 | Lieutenant General Joseph M. Cosumano Jr. (born 1946) | 30 April 2001 | 16 December 2003 | 2 years, 230 days | |
| 8 | Lieutenant General Larry J. Dodgen (1949–2010) | 16 December 2003 | 18 December 2006 | 3 years, 2 days | |
| 9 | Lieutenant General Kevin T. Campbell | 18 December 2006 | 15 December 2010 | 3 years, 362 days | |
| 10 | Lieutenant General Richard P. Formica | 15 December 2010 | 12 August 2013 | 2 years, 240 days | |
| 11 | Lieutenant General David L. Mann | 12 August 2013 | 5 January 2017[note 1][32] | 3 years, 146 days | |
| 12 | Lieutenant General James H. Dickinson (born c. 1963) | 5 January 2017 | 5 December 2019 | 2 years, 334 days | |
| 13 | Lieutenant General Daniel L. Karbler | 6 December 2019 | Incumbent | 3 years, 308 days | |
Notes Edit
See also Edit
Comparable organizations
- Naval Network Warfare Command (U.S. Navy)
- Space Operations Command (U.S. Space Force)
References Edit
- ^ Ronald Bailey (USASMDC) (26 November 2019) Karbler confirmed to lead U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command
- ^ a b Jen Judson (Oct 2021) The future of the Army in space interview of LTG Daniel Karbler at AUSA: Next conflict will start in Space. Space command is 24/7. Theater-level strike effects group (TSEG) will be an Army org.
- ^ "SMDC History: 20th anniversary of the creation of 1st SATCON Battalion". army.mil. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ a b Dottie White (17 August 2018) SMDC senior leader discusses his career path, unique role of National Guard in Command's mission
- ^ Dottie White (17 July 2018) 1st Space Brigade welcomes new commander
- ^ Vergun, David (6 September 2016). "Meet your Army: Chief trains Soldiers to detect missiles". U. S. Army. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ SMDC/ARSTRAT Public Affairs Office (22 October 2018) Early missile warning unit passes evaluation with 99 percent Joint Tactical Ground Station (JTaGS), Osan AB
- ^ White, Dottie K (17 October 2017). "Army activates 2nd Space Battalion". US Army. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ SGT Benjamin Crane, 100th Missile Defense Brigade (GMD) Public Affairs (15 September 2011) Missile defense exercise spans globe
- ^ Carlson III, Staff Sgt. Jack W. (18 February 2010). "This week at the 49th Missile Defense BN". US Army. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ U.S. Army Satellite Operations Brigade and Change of Command ceremony during COVID-19
- ^ Theresa Hitchens (21 May 2021) Army Sat Ops Brigade Transfers To Space Force: Karbler
- ^ "Army transfers satellite communications mission to USSF: All military SATCOM under one service for first time". www.spoc.spaceforce.mil. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ Sharon Watkins Lang, USASMDC/ARSTRAT Command Historian (16 February 2016) SMDC History: SMDC creates first non-TRADOC Battle Lab 1997–2015
- ^ Sharon Watkins Lang (SMDC/ARSTRAT Command Historian) (27 September 2018). "SMDC History: Army accepts Safeguard System".
- ^ Associated Press, "U.S. Army tests new dirigible craft to detect cruise missiles", 20 April 2010.
- ^ Jen Judson (27 May 2016). "Congress Nails Runaway Blimp's Coffin Shut". Defense News. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ DVIDs video, 24 August 2018 press conference
- ^ David Vergun, Army News Service (8 December 2017) US Army Futures Command to reform modernization, says secretary of the Army
- ^ AFC announcement, Friday (13 July 2018) Army Officials Announce New Army Command video 34 minutes, 27 seconds
- ^ Sydney J. Freeberg, Jr. (28 May 2019) Beyond INF: An Affordable Arsenal Of Long-Range Missiles? INF Treaty likely to expire in August 2019
- ^ Air and missile defense CFT (14 March 2018) Air and Missile Defense
- ^ Army Directive 2017–24 (Cross-Functional Team Pilot In Support of Materiel Development)
- ^ David Vergun, Defense.gov (22 February 2019) DOD official describes missile defense strategy
- ^ Loren Thompson (3 October 2019) Pentagon's Next-Gen Missile Defense Plan Could Leave U.S. Poorly Protected For Years
- ^ Sydney J. Freeberg, Jr. (26 January 2018) $86,000 + 5,600 MPH = Hyper Velocity Missile Defense
- ^ Sydney J. Freeberg, Jr. (22 August 2018) Why Hypersonics Are No. 1
- ^ Joe Lacdan (16 October 2018) The Army joins the Air Force, Navy in attempt to develop hypersonic weaponry
- ^ Samantha Hill (SMDC/ARSTRAT) (25 February 2019) Dickinson highlights key developments in missile development and space SHORAD
- ^ (19 March 2018) Air and missile defense CFT pursuing 'layered and tiered approach'
- ^ "Air Force Magazine, Volume 89". 2006. p. 73. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ Gruss, Mike (1 August 2016). "U.S. Army general dies two days before taking new command". SpaceNews. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
External links Edit
- "Army Space & Missile Defense Command". GlobalSecurity.org.
- Future Warfare Preparation: US Army Space & Missile Defense Command – animated dramatization of various missile defense scenarios (YouTube video made by Delta Research Inc for SMDC)