The Case for Giving a U.S. Space Force Some Lift

By Lieutenant General Kevin McLaughlin

Lt. Gen. James K. "Kevin" McLaughlin served as the Deputy Commander, U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) in Fort Meade, Maryland. General McLaughlin entered the Air Force in 1983 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has commanded at the squadron, group, wing and numbered air force levels and has served on the staffs at major command headquarters, combatant command headquarters, the National Reconnaissance Office, Air Force headquarters, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Prior to assuming his current position, General McLaughlin was the Commander, 24th Air Force and Commander, Air Forces Cyber, Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland, Texas.

The National Space Council heard testimony, and then voted this week to move forward with six recommendations that are intended to provide some lift for President Trump’s call to create a U.S. Space Force.  While there has been a cautious sense of how to move ahead with the idea among Pentagon leaders, the council pushed forward six key recommendations.

The recommendations include: creating a new, unified command called U.S. Space Command; Tasking the Pentagon with submitting a legislative proposal to the White House; Creating a budget request to fund the Command in 2020; ordering a review of the Agency’s new authorities; establishing a space development agency with the responsibility of overseeing technology investments; strengthening the relationship between the intelligence community and the new command.

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