The main defense department, U.S. Air Force, was formed right after the Second World War, still in operation. It is considered one of the strongest military forces in the world. The U.S. Air Force is one of the three US defense departments, each handling different functions and carrying out varied operations both within and outside the country. However, the U.S. Space Force is the 6th autonomous U.S. military service branch. It is managed by the Chief of Space Operations, taking orders directly from the Joints Chiefs of Staff. The USSF was formed in 2019 and is still operational with the main goal of carrying out smaller air force missions.
Currently, there are about 4,840personnel who have received training both in hand-to-hand combat and flying different types of aircraft. Under the command of USSF, there are about 77 different aircraft, both civilian and warcraft planes, which help the trained defense professionals to carry out rescue operations, forming an initial line of defense, acting as the support system for the navy, and so on.
Apart from this, USSF also has access to the Global Positioning System Constellation, Military Satellite Communications Constellations, U.S. Missile Warning System, U.S. Space Surveillance Network, and the special Satellite Control Network.
According to the Space Force mission and vision, the personnel train themselves for air combat and support the U.S. and other allied forces. In addition, the department also controls major defense systems, starting from the GPS to the Military Satellite Systems. Once the training gets completed, the personnel directly report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the President. Whenever there is an emergency, be it in terms of war or rescue, the immediate response is provided by the USSF.
Due to the efforts of USSF, the U.S. Air Force has become more competent in managing the different monitoring systems, controlling several satellites, starting from the communication to the imaging satellites. The personnel of USSF has a great deal of passion and dedication for protecting their country and its allied forces alike.
TheSpace Force mission statement reveals that “The USSF is a military service that organizes, trains, and equips space forces to protect the U.S. and allied interests in space and provide space capabilities to the joint force. USSF responsibilities include developing Guardians, acquiring military space systems, maturing the military doctrine for space power, and organizing space forces to present to our Combatant Commands”.
From the time of its conception, several critics have asked about the purpose of establishing a new and independent line of a space defense system. That’s why the heads of Congress and the Pentagon have explained the two major parts of this complicated USSF mission statement. According to them, USSF will be responsible for monitoring and managing the vast network of U.S. military satellites and preparing for space wars to protect both the nation and its allies.
On analyzing the statement released from the Pentagon and the mission statement of USSF, the following key messages can be deciphered.
Control and maintenance of the U.S. Satellite fleet
It is the responsibility of Space Force to ensure that all the U.S. satellites are in their correct positions as per the requirement and transmitting proper data. Starting from maintaining the communication satellites to the positioning ones, USSF deals with several such space satellites to ensure that they can easily communicate with the U.S. military and other departments worldwide.
Protecting the nation and allied forces from space wars
The USSF personnel will assist the U.S. Air Force in battlegrounds against any kind of enemy, both internal and external. They are concerned with protecting the nation and its allies’ interests by providing prompt assistance to the U.S. Air Force department.
Helping U.S. military and navy with space reports
The USSF will be responsible for describing the landform or sending informational charts about the minefields to the submarines; the USSF is concerned with sending proper space reports to the military and the navy. On any kind of battleground or national emergency, the air force, military, and the navy directly communicate with the USSF for having proper knowledge about enemy positioning, the condition of the target areas, and so on.
Forming a unified joint for the first line of defense
USSF makes sure to report to the Joints Chiefs of Staff to ensure that they form a unified defense line, regardless of whether there is a national emergency or not. They are concerned with using the satellite fleet to read data and help form the strongest defense upfront.
Space Force Vision Statement
Space Force Vision Statement says “The World’s Greatest Air Force — Powered by Airmen, Fueled by Innovation. Through shared values, key capabilities, and upholding our Airman’s Creed, we continue to achieve our mission and aim high in all we do.” USSF envisions providing resilient, effective, and affordable satellite communications that will aid in achieving the mission and also adapt to the rapidly changing requirements.
As the world is rapidly becoming moving towards digitization, Space Force envisions providing all the digital assistance in terms of satellite reports, digital communication, data, etc., that will help the US military become stronger.
It will be providing digital assistance for the warfighting advantage of the US army and navy. At the same time, the Space Force aims to educate the personnel about digitization and create a digitally well-versed workforce.
Space Force Core Values
The Space Force core valuescan be stated: “As a lean, mission-focused, digital service, the United States Space Force values organizational agility, innovation, and boldness.”
It can be understood from the above statement that USSF is concerned with providing prompt and accurate digital information collected from the U.S. satellite fleet with agility and boldness. Furthermore, the department is also concerned with devising innovative but bold strategies to help them win wars and declare the U.S. Air Force one of the strong military sections worldwide.
Following are the main values/principles which define USSF and its operations.
Agility
USSF trains its personnel to be agile to respond to any emergency with enthusiasm, dedication, and promptness. When it comes to defense, a delay by a couple of minutes can cause huge problems. And that’s the reason USSF believes a lot in being agile.
Innovation
This particular U.S. defense wing accepts innovative ideas and strategies involving the use of the U.S. Satellite System to gather and record data sets and use them to strengthen the army and military.
Boldness
Just like any other department of the U.S. Defense, USSF also thrives on boldness and courageousness. They are always ready to exemplify situations where they need to take major and immediate decisions, especially when it comes to battlegrounds.
Conclusion
With the well-defined Space Force mission and vision statement, it is transparent now that the department is concerned with two major activities – maintaining the satellites and keeping the U.S. military, navy, and air force updated about any kind of absurdity in the enemy domains. Furthermore, they are also concerned with providing data about changing topographies, weather reports, international fleet movements, and several such activities.
