Space Force Association: SWT with Lt Gen Garrant
Space Force Association: Space Warfighter Talk with Lt Gen Garrant, Commander, Space Systems Command
28 March 2024
Key Takeaways:
- Integrated Mission Readiness: Prioritizing readiness through integrated mission deltas, focusing on unified operational and acquisition strategies.
- Personnel Support and Capability Development: Enhance service members’ quality of life and advance critical space capabilities through partnerships.
- Resource Prioritization: Streamline Space Systems Command structure and missions, focusing resources on high-priority capabilities and improving quality of life.
Quotes:
Importance of Relationships and Communication with Industry
-“How we get things done and what’s hard is the relationships. It’s the personal connections. And I think that holds true for industry.”-“I think the best thing we can do is communicate. Even though I don’t have acquisition authorities or a program budget, I’m going to be available to industry.”-“We have an organization that we call the front door. It’s a way for industry to get into SSC and to learn about our business opportunities.”-“The relationship between industry and the Space Force is incredibly important for networking for connection.”-“It’s this growing partnership with commercial providers, less traditional defense contractors partnering with the larger defense contractors, and our allies as well.”Military Readiness and Mission Focus
-On Integrated Mission Deltas and Readiness: “General Saltzman’s primary motivation for integrated mission deltas is readiness. It’s all about combat credible ready resilient combat forces to present to the combatant commanders.”-On Delivering Capability and Readiness Improvements: “For the first time under a single commander… singularly focused on delivering capability and readiness improvements.”
-On Future Readiness: “We’re gonna go after a few very specific threat chains to make sure that we actually do develop capability and we’re going to need our partners, we’re going to need industry, we’re going to need allies to make that happen.”
-On Adaptability for Future Challenges: “Sometimes it might make sense, sometimes it might not make sense, and the key there is flexibility to get that readiness.”Integrated Mission Deltas
-On The Implementation of Integrated Mission Deltas: “So we have two provisional IMDs… The idea is to from a portfolio perspective get all of the right players connected.”-On The Vision for Integrated Mission Deltas: “The goal eventually is to build those out so that every mission area has an IMD and perhaps an associated systems Delta.”
Capabilities
-On Space Domain Awareness: “Space domain awareness is going to be critically important…and then on the back end of the kill chain, battle damage assessment.”
-On Space Control Importance: “Space control is important not just to defeat red adversaries if we have to but to enable blue capabilities as well.”
Space Systems Command (SSC)
-On Relationship with Industry for SSC: “I think the best thing we can do is communicate. Even though I don’t have acquisition authorities or a program budget, I’m going to be available to industry.”
-On SSC’s Approach to Capability Development: “Now the acquisition still goes through the acquisition chain and pm still work for the PEOs who still report to honorable comme le. But you’ve got that singular focus with the commander who can reach into the sustainment funds, identify true operational needs and prioritize those needs.”
Passion and Dedication of Space Force Personnel
-“What impressed me before but just really hit home this time is how passionate our guardians are about the mission.”
“They’ve really listened and thrived on leadership about focusing on the threat and getting after it.”
“It makes me really happy to come to work every single day and just see how much our airmen and guardians care about delivering capability.”
“The people are what separates us from both China and Russia… focusing on that like any chief would but also any good commander.”Innovation and Future Mission
“We are taking on a lot of new missions and that’s an area we will have to change to be able to keep up with the mission demands being put on us.”“I want to take a realistic look at what might we stop doing? We’re going to have to make some hard choices particularly in the budget scenario.”“In the future, there might be a situation where all the field commands are doing operations… that’s certainly a possibility.”“We’re gonna go after a few very specific threat chains to make sure that we actually do develop capability.”
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