April 23, 2019—Air Force Stewardship of Space?

Last week on the 77^th anniversary of Jimmy Doolittle’s famous raid on Tokyo, I wrote a Newsmax article that I proposed to title, “No Space Pearl Harbor, Please!” I wanted it to key off that important historical event to emphasize lessons that we should not forget today. Instead, the Newsmax editors emphasized the important Doolittle raid itself, rather than an even more important (in my opinion) historical lesson that we dare not repeat. With that thought in mind, please review that article and see what you think. Then consider my follow-up comments.

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How Doolittle Raid Altered World War II Outcome

By Henry F. Cooper, Newsmax, Thursday, 18 April 2019 10:15 AM Current | Bio | Archive https://www.newsmax.com/henryfcooper/b-25-mitchell-mitchells-usaf/2019/04/18/id/912262/

Flight demonstration of historic aircraft. B25 Mitchell. An American twin-engined medium bomber. (Antonio Ros/Dreamstime).

A little over a week ago, Lt. Col. Richard Cole died at age 103.

He was the last of the 80 Doolittle Raiders that bombed Tokyo on April 18, 1942, four months after Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 — a day that “will live in infamy,” as President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it in his December 8, 1941 address to a joint session of congress, which declared war on Japan.

He promised that “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people will in their righteous might win through to absolute victory.”

This announced objective became more problematic three days later when Germany declared war on the United States. So, World War II began in earnest on two fronts. And we were unprepared for war on either front — let alone for both fronts — and things did not go well in the war’s early days. President Roosevelt sought an early way to back up his words.

Colonel Jimmy Doolittle’s mission, initially proposed by the Army Air Corps Commanding General Hap Arnold (an acolyte of the legendary Billy Mitchell in advocating airpower) became an unforgettable way to strike back at Japan’s capitol, Tokyo.

With Richard Cole as his co-pilot, Doolittle led 16 B-25 bombers from the deck of the USS Hornet aircraft carrier on a “one-way” mission to deliver their bombs on Tokyo and then bail out at sea, over China or crash land. Most made it with the help of Chinese allies, but some were captured and became prisoners of war, and others were executed.

Imperial Japan thought it was not vulnerable to air attack, and Americans had something to cheer about. They had been experiencing a very trying time as Japan and Germany both advanced after we were rudely awakened from our unprepared stupor.

President Roosevelt gave Doolittle the Medal of Honor, and all 80 Raiders received Distinguished Flying Crosses.

Years later, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I served with Jimmy Doolittle on several Air Force Scientific Advisory Board Task Forces that examined the vulnerabilities of our strategic forces and how best to modernize them. He retained that same vigor and creative initiative he demonstrated in leading the highly secret training and almost flawless execution of that potentially suicide mission.

Everything was rationed through World War II, to support the war effort.

We took the means to patch the synthetic rubber inner tubes that often had blowouts if we traveled very far from home. And of course, we had a hand pump to pump-up our tires for further travel.

Those were the days of “Rosie the Riveter,” who manned the factories that produced the tanks, planes, guns, ammunition, explosives, and most all of the required logistics support for their husbands, sons, brothers and even wives, daughters and sisters who supported those who carried the battle to our enemies. They all were “The Greatest Generation.”

Thankfully, because of our island nation status, far from the war zones of Europe and the Pacific, we had time to recover.

An irony is that Doolittle’s B-25s were named “Mitchells,” after Billy Mitchell.

He is revered by many, including yours truly, as the father of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) because of his unbridled air power advocacy — which included many warnings, including a formal 1924 report to General of the Army John Pershing that included a prediction of a Pearl Harbor attack.

His often unwelcome and sometimes rude “strategic warnings” were ignored by the “powers that be” of that era, who instead court marshalled then Air Service Brig. Gen. Mitchell and later reduced his rank to Colonel and cut his pay in half. (President Harry S. Truman posthumously awarded him the rank of major general and restored his back pay to his family.)

It took World War II to demonstrate the importance of air power even to the dumbest of the then powers that be and, in 1947, a needed separate U.S. Air Force was established, rather than continuing it under the mantle of the Army.

Today, we don’t have the time for a “World War II-like” demonstration to convince today’s “powers that be” that we need a separate U.S. Space Force, separate from the other services.

We no longer have the benefits of an isolated environment like in 1941, which permitted our unprepared but able industrial might to prepare for and engage in war, and indeed to win in only four-and-a-half years—just as Roosevelt promised—and in all theaters of World War II.

Time and space are now limited by technology that permits mortal attacks in microseconds via stylized cyber and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects.

And we are playing catch-up in preparing to counter threats from space, as stated by Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael Griffin — and echoed by a few Air Force leaders.

Meanwhile, some USAF leaders seem to have forgotten trials of their heritage—and instead now insist that President Trump’s Space Force remain under their wings rather than as the separate military service that is warranted.

As a former Air Force officer, I regret that my favorite service has been a major obstacle for years, and arrangements preferred by some Air Force leaders do not yet seem to show an interest in moving from their wayward ways, except to say we must be prepared to strike back if attacked.

Today, we need a separate service focused on the future missions to, in, through and from space. Not just as an adjunct to how things have so far evolved since the late 1950s.

Today, Secretary Heather Wilson is to posthumously honor the Doolittle Raiders for their raid 77 years ago, which changed the dynamics in the early days of World War II. She no doubt will appropriately celebrate naming our B-21 new bomber “The Raider” after the Doolittle Raiders.

She should also remember they flew B-25 Mitchells on that historic raid, named after the Father of the Air Force she now leads. In contemplating future Space Force needs, she and other USAF leaders should not make mistakes like those who opposed Mitchell’s correct view of airpower.

We don’t have time to construct the Space Force after another major war, this time beginning with an all too real possible Pearl Harbor in Space.

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To back up my concerns that “my favorite service” cannot be trusted to lead the United States in building the systems we need in space, I urge you to read three articles published just within the past week:

Click here for an April 17 Aviation Week article, entitled “U.S. Air Force Fleet Is Structured For The Wrong War, CSBA Warns,” which includes “nary a word” on the need for space forces from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA). It claims to be the “world’s premier center for understanding future international competition and conflict” with the mission “to develop innovative, resource-informed defense concepts, promote public debate, and spur action to advance U.S. and allied interests.” It also claims to have a vision to “set the terms of debate for the future of national defense and drive change in concept development, force structure and resources to prepare the U.S. and its allies to compete and win in an era characterized by great power competition and conflict.” This article suggests that the CSBA advice focused only on aircraft for the Air Force — which seeks to be assigned the leadership role for President Trump’s Space Force. Really???
On the other hand, click here for an April 21 Space News article, entitled, “Space Development Agency a huge win for Griffin in his war against the status quo,” which suggests the new Space Development Agency (SDA) is moving ahead in spite of opposition by USAF leaders, including the Air Force Secretary. Indeed, The SDA is the only hope I see for reviving the most important product of President Reagan’s SDI program — which Defense Under Secretary for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin well knows, since he was there in SDI’s formative years and was my first Deputy for Technology. And the SDA focus on using technology from the private sector is absolutely correct, especially given the Pentagon’s lethargic acquisition process. As Griffin knows that also was the focus of SDI’s Brilliant Pebbles effort, the SDI’s most important product, which also carried a major complement of onboard sensors, perhaps like those now being considered for a separate space-based sensor system intended to help guide ground-, sea- and air-based interceptors toward their targets. The sensors on Brilliant Pebbles constellation also could have played that role. Indeed, that was our plan. SDI managers fired the Air Force from leading SDI’s space-based interceptor efforts, and established a Brilliant Pebbles Task Force reporting directly to the SDI Director to develop such cost-effective space-based interceptors, in large measure because the Air Force managers refused to consider technology then already advancing in the private sector. They were fixated on what I refer to as “Battlestar Gallactica” concepts housing numerous interceptors on large expensive garage satellites that were attractive targets inviting attack from our enemies. It seems little has changed in Air Force thinking.
Click here for an April 22 National Defense article, entitled “SPECIAL REPORT: Pentagon Reexamining Space-Based Interceptors,” which begins by recalling President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) and notes a possible role for space-based interceptors, without any mention of Brilliant Pebbles, the most cost-effective product of the SDI era (1983-93), and while continuing exaggerated cost estimates that, contrary to the Brilliant Pebbles cost estimates validated by the top Pentagon Acquisition officials, while critically reviewing all aspects of the Brilliant Pebbles concept and approving an associated Demonstration and Validation (DemVal) Program involving two contractor teams. I hope Mike Griffin has time to keep the faith on his watch, in spite of continuing Air Force and other opposition — even with the anemic funding currently assigned to the SDA, according to the above referenced Space News article. The SDA has all of $15 million assigned to consider space-based interceptors, and to do so consistently with an innovative approach of exploiting private sector thinking. Note that over a quarter century ago a reluctant congress appropriated $300 million for Brilliant Pebbles in my last year as SDI Director — corresponding to over $500 million today to support two contractor teams in executing a fully approved Demonstration-Validation program. SDA’s anemic $15 million funding reflects the kind of opposition that Mike Griffin has to deal with. Damned with faint praise, I fear.

To emphasize more of this past history, especially in countering all too real near-term Russian and Chinese hypersonic threats against which we are playing “catch up” according to Mike Griffin and other Pentagon officials, click here for an April 10^th Washington Times article I co-authored with Paula DeSutter, entitled “Wouldn’t it be better to save lives than avenge them?” This title is an apt quotation from Ronald Reagan’s March 23, 1983 speech that launched his Strategic Defense Initiative that placed a high priority on developing space-based defenses — so high that he walked out of his October 1986 Reykjavik Summit when Soviet General Secretary Michael Gorbachev demanded that Reagan restrict research on space-based defenses to the laboratory — which would have gutted the most important SDI efforts. Many attribute SDI, and Reykjavik in particular, as bringing an early end to the Cold War, “without firing a shot,” as stated by Britain’s Prime Minister and Reagan’s most consistent partner Maggie Thatcher.

Click here for my April 9, 2019 High Frontier message, which reviewed that tortured history of the evolution of our missile defense programs, in considerable detail, and concluded by urging our readers to stay tuned for the April 11 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing with our most senior Pentagon officials to review their progress on responding to President Trump’s Space Force initiative.

Click here for a pertinent April 12^th Defense News review of that hearing, which indicated continuing difficulties, including skepticism by powerful senators and in particular by Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. In keeping with her past pronouncements, she again voiced her opposition to the Space Development Agency — actually consistent with her opposition to President Trump’s Space Force from the day it was proposed. So, the Air Force has been assigned the role of leading the Space Force activities in the Pentagon??? Doesn’t sound promising — except that she is soon to leave her Air Force post to become President of the University of Texas in El Paso. I wish her well in her new post.

To return to the concluding thought of my Newsmax article above, I wish my favorite service would remember the decades of resistance from the Army and Navy, including court marshaling Billy Mitchell — the Father of the separate and equal service in which I served, the U.S. Air Force. That needed event came after decades and the events of World War II, which made the need obvious to even the dumbest among us.

As I concluded in my Newsmax article, “We don’t have time to construct the Space Force after another major war, this time beginning with an all too real possible Pearl Harbor in Space.”

Bottom Lines: Opportunities for Going Back to the Future.

I am proud that many missile defense system that began on my SDI watch are now deployed around the world, and I hope to see them advance as fast as our best technology permits. And I really want to see the best of Ronald Reagan’s SDI effort, Brilliant Pebbles, revived ASAP!

In particular, we should exploit the technology artificially stifled almost 30-years ago when in early 1993 then Defense Secretary Aspin “Took the stars out of Star Wars.” The private sector has continued to advance that needed technology, ahead of the Pentagon’s lethargic acquisition processes. Mike Griffin understands this fact and his efforts to exploit that more advanced (and still advancing) technology should be supported by the powers that be in the Pentagon, Congress and private sector.

President Trump’s return to Reagan’s vision in which space-based defenses should play a major if not dominant role requires outside pressures to influence many residual “powers that be”— including within the Air Force — who thus far have shown little sign of heeding such conclusions and recommendations.

Join us in that chorus — and stay the course!

What can you do?

Join us in praying for our nation, and for a rebirth of the freedom sought, achieved and passed to us by those who came before us.

Help us to spread our message to the grass roots and to encourage all “powers that be” to provide for the common defense as they are sworn to do.

Begin by passing this message to your friends and suggest they visit our webpage www.highfrontier.org, for more information. Also, please encourage your sphere of influence to sign up for our weekly e-newsletter.

Encourage them to review our past email messages, posted on www.highfrontier.org, to learn about many details related to the existential manmade and natural EMP threats and how we can protect America against them. I hope you will help us with our urgently needed efforts, which I will be discussing in future messages.

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