APPENDIX B: EVOLVING DEVELOPMENTS AND INITIATIVES WITH PLANNING IMPACTS
There are several evolving developments and planning initiatives underway that could significantly impact future AFSPC planning. Some of these are summarized below.
In October 1996, the Air Force Chief of Staff and his senior leadership confirmed that the future of the USAF was inextricably tied to space. In the time since, the USAF has published a Long Range Plan establishing end states for air and space integration and initiated the Aerospace Integration Task Force (AITF) under the direction of the AF/XP and AF/XO. The on-going AITF effort is chartered to develop the Aerospace Integration Plan, a document that will identify the architectures and candidate capabilities, organization, education, training and cultural changes needed to more fully integrate air and space in the Air Force. HQ AFSPC is already an active participant of the AITF. Moreover, the AFSPC Vision emphasizes the necessity for better air and space integration in the Air Force in order to meet AF objectives.
The Aerospace Integrated Investment Study (ASIIS) is the initial attempt to standardize the analytical support used by both AFSPC and Air Combat Command (ACC) in implementation of the Modernization Planning Process (MPP). The tools and techniques of the study will allow AFSPC and ACC to produce their internal MAJCOM investment plans using the same methodology, as well as allow air and space investment trade-offs. The initial Strategy-to-Task framework, modernization planning cost methodology and optimization model algorithms have been drafted to support the next planning cycle. When the ASIIS tools are finalized, cost-benefit trade-offs and sensitivity analyses will provide insight to the development of the Major Command 25-year integrated investment roadmap.
AF/XPX is currently developing the Air Force Strategic Plan (AFSP) to: 1) Implement the AF strategic vision, 2) Provide strategic direction and front-end guidance to AF planners and 3) Provide top-down guidance and alignment for subordinate command strategic plans. The AFSP will consist of three separate volumes. Future Security Environments and Key Planning Assumptions (Volume 1) provides a common planning context across the near-term, mid-term and long-term planning horizons. Air Force Mission Performance Plan (Volume 2) provides AF goals, objectives and performance metrics for the near-term. Air Force Capabilities Investment Plan (Volume 3) will provide planning objectives and priorities for development and capabilities. Volumes 1 and 2 are complete; Volume 3 is being prepared. Volume 3 will be focused on developing the path to Air Force Modernization based on the Core Competencies. It will also address the AITF, Expeditionary Air Force and Future Total Force initiatives while folding in the S&T planning efforts originally slated for a separate Volume 4. Volume 3 is currently planned for publication in Spring 2000 in order to incorporate the results of CORONA Fall and the AF Vision update.
AF/NRO Integration Planning Group
The Secretary of the Air Force and the Director of the NRO established an Air Force/NRO Integration Planning Group to enhance the partnership between the two organizations. This group, consisting of representatives from the NRO, Air Staff, AFSPC, Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), and the Aerospace Command & Control Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance Center (AC2ISRC), will submit recommendations on integration of Air Force and NRO space activities regarding policy, plans, programs, requirements, architectures, acquisition and resources. Cooperation enabled by the group has already made a difference by supporting the NATO-led Operation Allied Force in the Republic of Kosovo.
The goals of the group are to identify areas for integration and cooperation; develop options for initiatives to achieve a more effective program at lower cost; develop greater research and development, operations and program synergy; and provide enhanced space support to combatant commanders. Initial project areas identified to be worked are: SBR, Space-Based Infrared/Integrated Overhead SIGINT Architecture (SBIRS/IOSA) integration, Space-Based HSI and Large-Scale Space Optics. See the classified Annex for further details.
AFSPC/NASA/NRO Partnership Council
The Commander of AFSPC, the Administrator of NASA and the Director of the NRO have formed a Partnership Council to expand cooperation among the three organizations. This cooperation is intended to achieve efficiencies, risk reduction and better understanding of plans and activities in areas of mutual interest. Improving the level of interaction between the organizations should lead to harmonized long-range planning, more efficient resource allocation, expanded technology partnerships and more compelling advocacy of programs. Anticipated benefits include: streamlining operations costs, cross utilizing facility capabilities, consolidating redundant facilities, sharing support services and leveraging S&T investments. Initiatives sponsored by the Partnership Council have already made significant impacts. For instance, the consolidation of NASA and Air Force operations support contracts at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center plus the NASA lead on technology development for a Space Maneuver Vehicle will yield tremendous cost savings.
Commercial Opportunities
AFSPC is actively considering which functions can be competitively provided by commercial sources. Any product or service obtainable through a commercial source is considered a commercial activity (CA) and is subject to review. The first objective of a CA program is to achieve economy and enhance productivity through competition. The second objective is to retain inherently governmental functions in-house. A third objective is to rely on the private sector for commercial services. The CA program is designed to determine the most efficient and economical method of operation for all commercial activities by cost comparing private sector bids, also known as “competitive sourcing.”
Additionally, AFSPC is participating in the Commercial Space Opportunities Study (CSOS). The CSOS was directed by SAF/AQ based on the results of the 1998 “Doable Space” study. SMC/XR and HQ AFSPC/DXP are study co-directors. The objective of the CSOS is to “identify potential, viable alternatives to current Air Force space activities that capitalize on the commercial space revolution.” To accomplish the study, six panels were created covering the following areas: Launch and Range, Communications, Remote Sensing, Navigation and Satellite Control. Final results and recommendations from CSOS will guide future AFSPC planning.
Expeditionary Aerospace Force (EAF)
The Air Force is in the process of operationally reorganizing into 10 Air Expeditionary Forces (AEF). These units will be on call or deployed up to 90 days at a time roughly every 15 months. Two will be on call at all times. The Air Force plans to create about 5,000 positions to support deployed forces and home bases to ease the tempo for highly stressed support forces. The structure will ensure a team is ready to go within 48 hours and still give people more predictability in their lives as to when they will be in a “deployment mode.” Deploying forces will be specifically tailored to a contingency in support of warfighting CINCs, making the air force lighter, leaner and more lethal than before.
Today the space contribution to the EAF is through Expeditionary Combat Support (ECS) and the Air Force Space Support Teams (AFSST). AFSPC is providing over 2,000 personnel to all 10 AEFs and one Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW). AEF ECS for AFSPC is a cross-functional endeavor with representation coming from Security Forces to Combat Chaplains. As an interim solution, the AFSST are part of the “deploying enabler” Time Phased Force Deployment Data which essentially makes them available for tasking to any of the ten AEFs or two AEWs. The AFSST provides theater commanders with immediate information on what space resources are available for executing the mission. During FY02 or earlier, however, AFSPC plans to support the EAF from sources other than AFSSTs. These sources could include organic theater space personnel and space augmentees drawn directly from AFSPC units.
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Integrated Roadmap and Investment Plan (IRIP)
A follow-on IRIP effort, led by AC2ISRC, will expand the scope of this effort, to include additional ISR focus areas, including tasking, processing, exploitation and dissemination, and will integrate other ISR capability providers such as the other services and national systems.
Modeling, Simulation and Analysis (MS&A) Initiatives
Air Force and Joint MS&A must grow to represent the evolving contributions of current and future space capabilities to the battlefield. Additional fidelity is needed to assess the contribution of space to combatant commander objectives and to support planning and programming decisions. Space-based capabilities have only recently been considered in mission and campaign simulations; significant effort is required to balance and integrate space representations with air, ground and naval assets. We will continue to support development of the next generation of Air Force simulations by advocating for appropriate models of space capabilities and requesting model changes to convey improved CONOPS and tactics. In addition, we will establish an inherent analytic capability to support modernization planning and aerospace integration. The analytic capability will support local analysis requirements, provide space analytic expertise and data to other organizations, and represent the command’s MS&A requirements in Air Force model development. For space assets, we will help build the linkage from system performance models to the interpretation of campaign and mission contributions.
Near-term, the MP/AI Initiative is to establish an AFSPC analytic center employing Air Force and AFSPC-unique combat simulations and system performance data to address the military utility of space and missile assets. MS&A concepts were developed for the SMP with two objectives: 1) to establish an analysis capability at AFSPC to support modernization planning and aerospace integration and 2) to develop the infrastructure necessary to fully integrate our analysis center with existing space analysis centers to quantify space and missile system contributions to support both AFSPC and Air Force investment and divestiture decisions. The MS&A initiatives have been formally incorporated into the Space Support mission area. Further details of current and future MS&A activities are located within the Space Support mission area sections in this document.
Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) support provides an intellectual base with continuity of effort and surge capability to support AFSPC modernization planning and requirements analysis processes and decision-making. This intellectual base will serve as a technical center of gravity for internal and external analyses (Analysis of Alternatives, requirements traceability, etc.). It will also serve as a communication bridge between Product Centers, users, SWC and other organizational interfaces to enhance the planning, requirements and development processes, and to quantify the military worth of space capabilities to the battlefield. This provides a foundation for assessing operational effectiveness versus economic trade-offs in order to best meet the operational needs of theater CINCs within available resources.
In AFSPC, as throughout the Air Force, people are our most important resource. As AFSPC continues to garner an ever-increasing role in our national defense strategy, maintaining a stable, qualified force within AFSPC will have an ever-increasing impact on the implementation of that strategy. Providing QOL for our people and their families enhances readiness by positively influencing efforts to recruit and retain top quality people for our highly technical space missions, and is essential to the fulfillment of every aspect of this plan.
It is no secret that increased operations tempo, a reduced work force and competitive sourcing initiatives combined with a strong national economy have negatively impacted our ability to retain our highly trained, quality force. Reenlistment rates in the Air Force for second term and career airmen have steadily declined since 1993. Additionally, for the first time since 1979, the Air Force is not expected to meet its recruiting goals, and is expected to be 2,300 people short on 30 Sep 99. As stated in Global Engagement: A vision for the 21st Century Air Force, “The essential foundation of the Air Force’s warfighting core competencies is quality people… We are placing increased demands on these quality people as we transition to a sustained, high tempo air expeditionary force. QOL programs strive to mitigate the impact of these demands and are intended to create acceptable living and working environments, enabling us to recruit and retain the skilled and experienced people required for our highly technical air and space missions.” In support of this philosophy, we will continue to do everything we can to alleviate the above-mentioned concerns, and enhance the QOL programs, identified in the Chief of Staff’s QOL Survey and AFSPC’s QOL Conferences.
AFSPC’s annual QOL Conference demonstrates our commitment to identify the QOL issues within our command, resolve those within our capability and elevate others to the Air Staff. We understand that many issues that affect retention, such as pay and benefits, educational opportunities, retirement plans and health care are controlled at or above Air Staff level. However, AFSPC can aggressively work to retain our people by focusing on such critical issues as improving fitness through new and upgraded fitness facilities, providing new and improved family housing and dormitories, and increasing accessibility to quality healthcare through TRICARE.
Total Force Initiatives
The DoD recently completed a year long study on improving the way reserve component forces are trained, organized and utilized in the future. The study was launched in June 1998 as a follow-up to Defense Secretary Cohen’s September 1997 memorandum calling for a “seamless total force.” That memorandum tasked DoD’s military and civilian leadership to remove structural and cultural barriers to effective integration of the reserve and active components. AFSPC has made a strategic decision to increase its complement of reserve component forces throughout the command to achieve a variety of strategic goals.
A robust Guard and Reserve contingent serving AFSPC will provide a means of capturing the skills of highly trained space professionals who would otherwise separate from the Air Force at the end of their commitment. These personnel will then provide AFSPC with a surge capability to handle the increased demands of contingency or wartime operations. They will also provide a pool of trained personnel that can be called upon for a return to extended active duty or shorter term commitment to overcome the temporary demands for increased manpower that are associated with major system fielding or upgrades. The inclusion of Guardsmen and Reservists across the spectrum of AFSPC missions also serves to stabilize the AFSPC workforce through the low turnover rates of these units. Access to a larger recruiting base is gained by offering a more flexible mode of military service to personnel who would otherwise decline recruitment into the regular components.
AFSPC employs two tracks to achieve greater ARC integration in the command. The inclusion in the Headquarters’ staffs of personnel from the Air Force Reserve, through the Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) Program, and National Guardsmen, through the National Guard Bureau’s Staff Integration Program, help to ensure that an ARC perspective is achieved through routine staffing processes. Additionally, the command employs a Force Mix Integrated Product Team (IPT) to perform a corporate review of AFSPC near-, mid- and far-term space operations and support to determine the most effective force mix. IPT recommendations are submitted through the corporate structure process for incorporation into AFSPC planning, programming and budgeting efforts. The following highlights some of the AFSPC “total force” initiatives that are being planned.
§ SBIRS Mission Control Station (MCS). The 8th Space Warning Squadron (8 SWS), the RAU to the 2 SWS, activated on 1 Oct 99 and augments the 2 SWS in manning the SBIRS MCS. The 8 SWS, a Reserve unit, will maintain 18 full-time and 38 part-time billets. Three full-time Guardsmen are also assigned to 2 SWS. MCS-B, the backup to the SBIRS MCS, will be at Schriever AFB CO. A range of integrated manning options for operating the MCS-B is being developed to meet final operational requirements. The current mission of Air Force Reserve Command's 7 SOPS is being absorbed by the move toward the SBIRS architecture. Air Force Reserve Command already has significant manpower and experience assigned to this mission through 8 SWS and 7 SOPS which would provide a natural evolution to MCS-B.
§ GPS/RAU. An initiative for the Reserves to standup a Reserve Associate Unit (RAU) to 2 SOPS for GPS operations. The RAU will assist system architecture transition and all aspects of satellite operations.
§ Milstar Operations Center Manning. The California Air National Guard will also man the Milstar Operations Center at Vandenberg AFB (MOC-V).
§ Space Warfare Center Reserve Associate Test Squadron. The Reserve Associate Test Squadron will provide a flexible response to the test and evaluation needs of AFSPC. The squadron will provide special technical expertise and skills, surge capability and continuity for long lead-time test projects. In previous years, a significant percentage of tests were not completed due to lack of manpower. Squadron members are active participants in the Air Force total force concept of reserve and active force utilization and staff integration to meet mission requirements. The squadron will be comprised of four flights. Three flights will support the SWC's 17th Test Squadron (17TS) test and evaluation activities, and one flight will support SWC/DO and 17TS with "space adversary" aggressor-type test activities. Activation is planned for Oct 00. The Secretary of the Air Force has approved the initiative, and manpower and funding have been attached to the FY01 budget.
§
Clear AS. An initiative for the Guard to assume a
portion of the Clear AS radar operation. The apportioning of the Clear AS
operation to the Alaska Air National Guard would remove a remote tour that
challenges the retention of AFSPC personnel. This initiative would also save
overall DoD expenditures through a reduction of PCS and training
costs.
§ Spacelift Systems Security. An initiative to standup Reserve security forces squadrons to support launches at Vandenberg and Patrick AFBs. Reserve squadrons would be associate units of the 45th Security Forces Squadron (45 SFS) and 30 SFS, respectively.
Helicopter Operations Support. An initiative for the Guard to assume AFSPC ICBM helicopter support mission at F.E. Warren AFB WY, Minot AFB ND and Malmstrom AFB MT.
Executive Summary Table Of Contents
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9