{"id":11960,"date":"2021-08-11T19:41:25","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T19:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2021\/08\/11\/space-force-planning-for-new-component-in-the-middle-east-alongside-afcent\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:26:20","slug":"space-force-planning-for-new-component-in-the-middle-east-alongside-afcent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/space\/2021\/08\/11\/space-force-planning-for-new-component-in-the-middle-east-alongside-afcent\/","title":{"rendered":"Space Force planning for new component in the Middle East alongside AFCENT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Space Force leaders are hashing out a plan to create a new group under U.S. Central Command to coordinate what military space assets to use in the region, complementary to the Air Force\u2019s own ops organization in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Service components in each region respond to combatant commanders\u2019 requests for forces to handle daily missions. The fledgling reorganization aims to directly involve the Space Force in those discussions and ultimately lead to more robust space ops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That unit, tentatively known as Space Forces Central Command, could also serve as a blueprint for creating sister groups around the globe \u2014 for example, Pacific Space Forces, U.S. Space Forces in Europe and Space Forces Africa, Space Forces Northern in North America, and Space Forces Southern in Latin America and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/space\/2021\/08\/09\/how-air-force-materiel-command-will-help-the-space-force\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/vandy.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">How Air Force Materiel Command will help the Space Force<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">As leadership had suggested over the past two years, the Space Force will lean heavily on the Air Force for base support.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lt. Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force\u2019s operations boss in the Pentagon, is leading the planning effort from Washington. Col. Anthony Mastalir, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nellis.af.mil\/News\/Article\/2652285\/vandenberg-plans-for-change-of-command\/\">left Vandenberg Space Force Base, California<\/a>, for Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar earlier this summer, is helping roll out Saltzman\u2019s vision on the ground in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you think that the Space Force service component is \u2026 stripping out capability from the air component, I will tell you, that\u2019s not my thought process,\u201d Saltzman said at an Aug. 11 event hosted by the Air Force Association. \u201cIt\u2019s to add focus, it\u2019s to add a subordinate commander that, that combatant commander can point to and say, \u2018This is your responsibility.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Previously, that job fell to an airman serving as the director of space forces in Air Forces Central Command. The Air Force has managed space assets through the Combined Air Operations Center, a mission-planning and data hub located at Al Udeid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLet\u2019s say CENTCOM is planning or in the middle of an operation somewhere in the Middle East, and they realize they\u2019re going to need certain [satellite communications] coverage. You go to SPACECENT to request the SATCOM coverage that you need,\u201d said Todd Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMaybe they\u2019re experiencing \u2026 GPS jamming,\u201d he added. \u201cYou go to the Space Force to report that and ask the Space Force to, in the case of M-code [anti-jamming software], bump up the power of the signal in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the future, commanders may also turn to the Space Force for battlefield intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data collected by satellites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reorganization shouldn\u2019t require any additional people except for perhaps assigning a commander and a deputy commander to SPACECENT, Harrison said. Neither should it call for much more infrastructure than what AFCENT already provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saltzman, a former AFCENT deputy commander, echoed that, saying he intends to keep air and space operations closely linked, noting that the Space Force still relies on Air Force facilities to avoid duplicating cost and effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-15-2.jpg-2.jpg\" alt=\"Col. Anthony Mastalir, Space Launch Delta 30 commander, provides information on the U.S. Space Force and changes in the SLD 30 structure during a commander\u2019s all call May 25, 2021, at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. (Michael Peterson\/Space Force)\" class=\"wp-image-35313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-15-2.jpg-2.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-15-2.jpg-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-15-2.jpg-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Col. Anthony Mastalir, Space Launch Delta 30 commander, provides information on the U.S. Space Force and changes in the SLD 30 structure during a commander\u2019s all call May 25, 2021, at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. (Michael Peterson\/Space Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Space Force can follow the model set by the Marine Corps, which manages troops in the Middle East through its Marine Corps Forces Central Command. Keeping the Air Force in charge of authorizing space combat assets would be akin to the Navy controlling the same decisions for the Marines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs an independent service, Space Force should have [administrative control] over their personnel in theater, much like the Marine Corps has \u2026 over theater Marines,\u201d said Bruce McClintock, a retired Air Force brigadier general who leads space-related research at the federally funded think tank Rand Corp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those experts foresee overlap and possible tension between the Space Force and U.S. Space Command, which directs the personnel and wields the assets of the space service in daily operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service already has a branch that reports to SPACECOM \u2014 the similarly named Space Operations Command. Most Space Force units will work for SPACECOM through that subordinate branch, McClintock said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSpace Force and SPACECOM will need to find a way to have these two entities work together in each theater,\u201d he said. \u201cGiven the very close alignment between the service and the [combatant command], this seems possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wargaming and exercises could help the two figure out how to direct forces via their unique lanes, he suggested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Space Force will likewise be challenged to assign guardians to the various combatant commands who can understand their combat mindset and work together efficiently and effectively, Harrison said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn the past, [combatant commands] could rely on the Air Force, some fighter pilots to serve as that interface,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cNow, they\u2019re on their own, and they\u2019ve got to have their own Space Force personnel who can function in these important roles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He envisions an even larger issue could arise down the road: Creating Space Forces Central Command and other similar organizations may raise questions about how valuable the regional commands they serve are.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/opinion\/2021\/07\/19\/us-military-must-avoid-a-kasserine-pass-failure-for-space-power\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6033338.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US military must avoid a \u2018Kasserine Pass\u2019 failure for space power<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A primary reason U.S. Space Command was reestablished and the U.S. Space Force created was to ensure necessary war-fighting synergies through unity of effort under an independent commander, the essay author writes.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf the Space Force owns the resources \u2014 the people, the platforms, the units \u2014 and the Space Force is, by necessity, developing these components within each of the geographic commands, and if all the geographic commands are funneling their requests for resources back through these components into the Space Force, what is Space Command doing?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s a sign that the combatant command model is \u201cnear the end of its useful life,\u201d Harrison said. Instead, he suggested, adversary- or threat-based commands could pop up and close down as the global security environment evolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMaybe we end up with just a bunch of functional commands [like U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Transportation Command] and some ad hoc crisis commands, if you will,\u201d he said. That could entail separate commands focused on Russia and China, or on Afghanistan if the United States boosts its involvement there, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re entering an era with cyber and space and countries like China and Russia with global reach and ambition,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cThe COCOM model is ripe for rethinking.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Space Force leaders are hashing out a plan to create a new group under U.S. Central Command to coordinate what military space assets to use in the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":35307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":37,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,106,32,37],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3356],"class_list":["post-11960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-battlefield-tech","category-daily-brief","category-newsletters","category-space"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"EWKPX3NSHFFOBKKXR5ADJOB5SI","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/08\/11\/space-force-planning-for-new-component-in-the-middle-east-alongside-afcent\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Space Force planning for new component in the Middle East alongside AFCENT - C4ISRNet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Space Force leaders are hashing out a plan to create a new group under U.S. Central Command to coordinate what military space assets to use in the region.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Space Force planning for new component in the Middle East alongside AFCENT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Space Force leaders are hashing out a plan to create a new group under U.S. Central Command to coordinate what military space assets to use in the region.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/space\/2021\/08\/11\/space-force-planning-for-new-component-in-the-middle-east-alongside-afcent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"C4ISRNet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-11T19:41:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T20:26:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachel S. Cohen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rachel S. Cohen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/11\\\/space-force-planning-for-new-component-in-the-middle-east-alongside-afcent\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/11\\\/space-force-planning-for-new-component-in-the-middle-east-alongside-afcent\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t     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