HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command's senior civilian addressed the Huntsville Aerospace Marketing Association, or HAMA, during a luncheon in Huntsville Nov. 13.
Julie Schumacher, Deputy to the Commander of USASMDC/ARSTRAT, gave a command overview and spoke about how local professionals and community leaders are working together to support Warfighters and national defense.
"We couldn't do what we do without industry so thank you for your support and for asking me here today," Schumacher said. "We are a unique command and a complex command -- there isn't another like ours in the Army.
SMDC's complexity begins at the top. Schumacher explained how Lt. Gen. David L. Mann, SMDC commanding general, wears multiple hats. Mann reports to the Department of the Army in his role as the SMDC commanding general, specifically to Gen. Mark A. Milley, chief of staff of the Army.
As SMDC commander, Mann executes Army Service Title 10 responsibilities to train, maintain and equip the space and missile defense forces under his command. Mann also has a relatively new role as the Army integrator for air and missile defense.
Adding to the complexity, as Army Service Component Command to U.S. Strategic Command, Mann reports to Adm. Cecil D. Haney, USSTRATCOM commander, as well as providing Army forces to USSTRATCOM.
He also leads the Joint Functional Component Command -- Integrated Missile Defense where he is responsible for integration and synchronization of missile defense systems and operations across all of the combatant commands.
"What makes us unique?" Schumacher asked. "We have everything from requirements generation to research and development to operations all under one command. Normally, these functions would be performed by multiple organizations."
One operational mission, the Joint Force Friendly Tracker, or JFFT, provides Combatant Commands, or COCOMs, State Department and special forces with the capability to track combat forces and also forces deployed for crisis intervention, contingency support or disaster response. For instance, JFFT contributed data to U.S. Northern Command in support of Colorado Wildfires and Hurricane Sandy. SMDC also supplies space-based imagery to ground forces through either commercial imagery or geospatial intelligence.
As a multi-component command, SMDC's active-duty, Reserve and National Guard elements, like the 100th Missile Defense Brigade, execute the homeland defense mission out of Fort Greely, Alaska; Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; and Colorado Springs, Colorado. They also operate the five TPY-2 radars in four different countries.
Another element, the 1st Space Brigade, operates global wideband satellite operations centers that provide all wideband satellite communication, or Satcom, to Department of Defense users and control payload and transmissions.
"The Air Force drives the bus, and we operate the payload," Schumacher said. "The space brigade also provides mobile Satcom communications units and other space product experts to Combatant Commands and operates Joint Tactical Ground Stations which provide space-based infra-red missile warning."
She explained how the command's Future Warfare Center develops capabilities for space and missile defense, and has an extensive modeling, simulation and study capability. Alongside FWC, SMDC's Technical Center works science and technology projects on space and directed energy, counter-IED, hypersonics, as well as operating the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
"Soldier, family and mission support in our austere locations is always a high priority," Schumacher said. "Fort Greely and Kwajalein, where Lt. Gen. Mann is the Senior Commander, are very remote and isolated, and we are an advocate for quality of life and base operations at those locations."
Schumacher spoke about the command's Army Space Training Kits, a program SMDC is integrating into Army training centers and home station training for Satcom.
"We are teaching Soldiers how to recognize if and when they have issues with GPS or Satcom and how to operate in these degraded conditions," she said. "In a brigade combat team, more than 2,600 pieces of equipment rely on GPS and Satcom, so this is critical training for our Soldiers."
After her presentation, members of the chapter thanked Schumacher for making it a special event.
"Ms. Schumacher was fantastic," said Doug Allen, HAMA president. "One of the goals of this organization is to coordinate between industry and government by having senior leaders come here so we can better understand what opportunities are coming down in the future and how we can position ourselves to answer the government's needs. She gave us a good status update of upcoming programs and how we can support programs of interest."
HAMA was founded in 1990 and is an organization for aerospace business development professionals in the Tennessee Valley. More than 200 HAMA members represent nearly 200 companies that support local federal government agencies.
Social Sharing