A multi-domain mindset means that space and cyberspace are vital for defense, said Gen. John Hyten, Commander of Air Force Space Command, in a speech at the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“Those soldiers on the battlefield in the Middle East can never be left alone,” Hyten said, in remarks released by the Air Force. “All of the domains have to play at the same time with things happening simultaneously. That’s multi-domain operations.”
The Air Force is working now to integrate land, sea, air, space and cyberspace operations.
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“A year ago today we didn’t have the term ‘multi-domain operations,’” he said. “Multi-domain means it doesn’t matter where [an] effect comes from, what domain we use or what platform as long as it creates an effect on the battlefield. That’s multi-domain operations. That is fundamentally different from the way we operate today.”
Space Command is developing a “resilient enterprise,” Hyten said. “We need to train a Space Mission Force. We need our space operators focused on what to do in case of a threat and to operate through the threat environment. We have to change the way we train our airmen.”
The Space Mission Force is designed to make training and crew force resemble the rest of the Air Force. The cornerstone of SMF is the creation of a twin crew force, paired crews that alternate operations and training every four months.
“It’s all about the threat. It’s all about the enterprise,” Hyten said. “We have been given the greatest gift by the American people — their sons and daughters. Our job is to make sure they are never alone on the battlefield.”
