Since the end of the Gulf War, the debate over whether there should
be a separate space service, equal with the Air Force, Army, and
Navy, has grown in proportion to the indispensable value of space
operations to our nation's defense. Increasing dependency on
space-systems is a fact of military life. In this we-documented
essay, Col. Michael C. Whittington compares the leading arguments
for a separate space force to the cogent arguments for an
independent air force made by airpower advocates during the
interwar years of 1920-1940. The airpower issues in 1920 and the
space power issues of today are strikingly similar, revolving
around four key issues: leadership, doctrine, technology, and
funding. The irony, or course, it that these arguments, which
helped created an independent air force in 1947, are challenged by
many within today's Air Force leadership, which leads Colonel
Whittington to ask, "if there were cogent in 1920, would they not
be relevant today?" Interestingly, the author, though a
professional Air Force officer, is neither a space operators nor a
pilot. Colonel Whittington's purpose is not to propose a separate
space force but rather to provide the reader with an unbiased
perspective of the arguments for and against. Though all agree that
aerospace power is at a critical juncture, senior leaders are
divided as to which direction the Air Force should pursue regarding
space. Space separatists want space warfare freed from control of
"air" commanders, argue that space power doctrine cannot be built
upon airpower doctrine, contend that space is a wholly different
technological medium, and want to free space funding from
competition with Air Force fighter and bomber programs. Whichever
road is taken - whether a separate space force or an Air Force with
a greater emphasis in space - the shift from an airpower to a space
power culture is inevitable. And, when this shift occurs, the
author argues, the Air Force "would do well to remember its own
history."
General
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