September 17, 2019—Stumbling Toward Trump Objectives!

President Trump’s bold leadership includes: 1) His March 26, 2019 Executive Order on Coordinating National Resilience to Electromagnetic Threats, which is intended to direct the “powers that be” to provide a “whole of government” response to this existential threat; and 2) even years earlier his proposed Space Force. But these goals have been opposed by many within his administration and in Congress where we approaching a moment of truth.

A few weeks ago, we had warning of Hurricane Dorian and prepared for it—even so, it has left great damage and loss of life in its wake. As catastrophic as they were, those consequences were trivial as compared to what would happen to all Americans if they simply lost electricity indefinitely — as could result from manmade or natural electromagnetic pulse (EMP) events. Click here for my previous messages dating back for over five years on this well-known threat.

Click here for the President’s March 26. 2019 Executive Order that is very much on target, but the bureaucratic response by alleged experts threaten to study the problem indefinitely rather than apply well-known methods to protect against such effects. We need to shine a light on these efforts to block progress so that an enraged public can demand that their alleged Representatives “provide for the common defense” as they are sworn to do.

Then consider defending against Iran’s alleged attack last weekend on Saudi Arabia’s oil production infrastructure — especially defending against some of the more advanced and still advancing threats — reportedly eliminating half of Iran’s production capability with impacts around the world including to increase the effectiveness of our sanctions with China.

It was reportedly achieved in part by drones that perhaps could be built and controlled by almost anyone — and are being proliferated. Such technological capabilities are changing our concepts of strategy, especially since we are playing “catch-up” with some key technology as Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin has said — especially in defending against some of the more advanced and still advancing threats.

And not just with the advanced technology that was the context for Griffin’s comment or of Joint Chiefs Chairman Joe Dunford’s comment at last week’s rollout of the reinstated U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs, that we are at another “Sputnik” moment.

Folks of my generation remember the Soviet Union launching Sputnik in 1957 — during my Junior Year at Clemson, and its influence that led us to undertake a “crash program” in a Space Race with the Soviet Union during which, from a standing start, we successfully landed a man on the Moon to meet President Kennedy’s 1962 challenge ahead of schedule.

Now, I think we are playing catch-up, with at least China, in going back to the Moon — and given our lethargic acquisition processes and the existing political-bureaucratic impedance, thinks do not look promising for us in this “new Sputnik” moment — this time I judge to be more with China rather that the Soviet Union/Russia.

China has exploited key technology advanced by President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) after the U.S. powers that be “took the stars out of Star Wars” as then Defense Secretary Les Aspin boasted in 1993 while gutting key SDI programs I left behind from my watch as SDI Director.

We’ll see what comes from the Congressional deliberations entering full force this week (for another 9 days before our representatives leave Washington for the rest of this fiscal year to do whatever they do rather than legislating), but it is almost assured that our collective response will be nothing like the historical record that followed President Kennedy’s vision to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth by the end of that decade.

In any case, let’s just reflect a bit on what I describe as “stumbling” toward these two objectives that have had the President’s strong backing — now during what has turned into a frustrating political season.

Staggering Toward addressing the EMP Threat.

The nuclear EMP threat is included in the military doctrines of Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. Similar effects could result from a massive solar storm, like the 1859 so-called Carrington event, that happened long before we became dependent on electric power.

Our leaders cannot claim ignorance of these threats, because a very knowledgeable, technically competent Congressional EMP Commission has repeatedly warned of this existential threat since its initial report and formal testimony to a closed session of congress, 15-years ago.

The commission’s findings and recommendations are publically available and in some reports are only available to appropriately cleared government officials. Click here for almost a dozen of those authoritative reports that provide more than enough information to identify the EMP threat and how to protect our critical civil infrastructure against them.

However, our leaders have acted lethargically if at all — including after President Trump’s Executive Order directed the Federal Government to address this existential threat. Early signs are that today’s “powers that be” are responding ever so slowly to the President’s executive order — as illustrated by a brewing battle over pertinent reports from the Air Force’s Electromagnetic Defense Task Force (EDTF).

Click here for the August 27, 2019 EDTF report that discussed needed improvements to the nation’s electric power grid. One of its most important relates to vulnerabilities of 97 nuclear power reactors that provide about 20-percent of the nation’s electricity. If not kept safe, their released radiation could jeopardize all Americans. Click here for the 2018 EDTF report that also expressed this concern that has long been highlighted by the EMP Commission — and ignored by the “powers that be.”

Click here for Paul Bedard’s August 23, 2019 Washington Examiner article “Feds Fear EMP ‘Meltdown’ of Nuclear Power Plants” that reports that The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has acknowledged nuclear power plant vulnerabilities, but claimed no responsibility for protecting against EMP produced by nuclear weapons (that produce the most damaging effects) — it claims that responsibility belongs to the Defense Department.

And there has been no apparent response, demonstrating an obvious gap and the need for a “whole of government” response to the existential EMP threat — hence, the objective of President Trump’s March 26, 2019 Executive Order.

Another example of this need is an Air University review of an important April 2019 Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) report. Click here for the EPRI report and here for the EDTF review, authoritatively co-authored by EDTF participants, demonstrating that EPRI grossly understated our electric grid vulnerabilities.

For example — and as reported last week in my High Frontier message, “Ignore the Erroneous EPRI Report,” EPRI analyzed only the electric transmission lines (See the blue portion of the chart below.) — omitting all power plants (not just nuclear plants) and the entire Distribution Grid that composes over 90-percent of the nation’s overall grid, that is owned and operated by over 2000 electric power companies.

Click here for last week’s message that emphasizes that the Distribution Grid actually delivers electricity to all U.S. citizens and their critical civil infrastructure — but was not included in the EPRI analysis.

This omission of most of the nation’s electric grid makes clear that EPRI report, whatever its merits, cannot be a valid assessment of the entire electric grid upon which our society depends. Moreover, what it did consider was found wanting by the Air University EDTF review.

Thus, the EDTF contributions are demonstrably important in protecting the interests of all our citizens — as we would hope would be the objective of those charged to respond to the President’s executive order and sworn to “provide for the common defense.”

Meanwhile, the Air Force retired the most outspoken champion of these important EDTF efforts exposing issues that block progress toward meeting President’s stated Executive Order objectives.

On September 1, 2019 Lt. General Steven Kwast retired after completing only half of the normal 3-year tour as Commander of Air Force Education and Training Command, responsible for training the next generation of Air Force leaders.

Staggering Toward Trump’s Space Force.

General Kwast also emphasized developing a viable strategy for the nation’s future space efforts — to counter China’s and Russia’s growing threats as they couple their space activities with the rapidly advancing electromagnetic technological revolution. And he supported President Trump’s call for a Space Force.

His interests were contrary to longstanding Air Force stewardship, which has for too long ignored its responsibilities for advancing needed strategy, technology and system developments to meet the nation’s needs in a world of competing — and now exceling — space powers. As noted above, Defense Under Secretary for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin has said, we’re playing “catch-up” in these important matters.

Reinstating U.S. Space Command was a step toward the President’s Space Force proposal — but not a new idea. USAF General “Jay” Raymond (a fellow Clemson man) actually is the ninth Commander of U.S. Space Command, originally chartered in 1985 and disbanded in 2003. Such has been the continuity of our “start and stop” stutter steps in developing needed military space strategy, plans and programs.

Still, forming U.S. Space Command justifies applause as a step toward the President’s Space Force objective, especially given the initial opposition from Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Defense Secretary James Mattis — guaranteeing a “rocky start” for the Space Force as Namrata Goswami discussed in the August 30, 2019 Washington Post. Click here for that informative article, “The Space Force’s Rocky Start is Bad News for America.”

Hopefully, the new soon to be confirmed Air Force Secretary, Barbara Bennet, will continue Acting USAF Secretary Matthew Donovan’s demonstrated support for the Space Force since Secretary Wilson’s departure.

For now, the Space Force or Space Corps (depending on congressional decisions to be made presumably within the next nine days) is to be housed within the Air Force, like the U.S. Air Force was managed within the U.S. Army for decades until World War II made it clear that a separate military force was needed to lead the nation’s military air activities.

Hopefully, we won’t require a war in space to demonstrate that we need a separate Space Force to lead our future military strategy, plans, programs and operations in space. That war would no doubt end disastrously before we could respond effectively .

Our hopefully forward “stumbling” no doubt contributed to General Kwast’s retirement as the most visible Defense Department proponent for both of President Trump’s important initiatives: a separate Space Force (for now within the Air Force) and his March 26, 2019 Executive Order directing a whole of government response to the existential EMP threat.

Click here for my August 6, 2019 Newsmax article, “Crucial Decisions Needed on the Space force,” that noted “No good deed goes unpunished.“

The question for a number of us remains: “Will President Trump reward or ignore this general who spoke truth to power, while following his Commander in Chief? Click here and stay tuned.

Most important will be the message sent to future USAF leaders, now junior and mid-grade officers, who are watching from their perch in the Air Force Education and Training Command, recently led by Lt. General Steven Kwast. Click here for that Military.com article, “Air Force General’s Supporters Mount Campaign to Make Him Leader of Space Force.”

Whatever, we await coming congressional actions, including what the agreed proposed response will be called — a Space Corps or a Space Force (within the Air Force), as the Pentagon and congress stumble toward the President’s separate Space Force goal.

All the while, the Federal Government is stumbling with stutter steps at a snail’s pace — even so, only hopefully — toward meeting the objectives of the President’s March 26, 2019 Executive Order.

Stay tuned.

Bottom Lines.

The President has taken important initiatives, including one to deal with the existential EMP threat and another to build a Space Force — as originally proposed to be separate from, but integrated with, the other services to fashion and lead our future military operations in space.

Thus far, the Federal Government’s response in both cases can generously be described as dysfunctional as it stumbles ever so slowly, hopefully toward positive responses.

As Congress and the Executive Branch deliberate on the future of both important initiatives, there seems to be little that citizens can do to press their appointed and anointed leaders to do the right things. They seem to be locked in political disputes rather than dealing with the threats we are facing — and we are collectively playing “catch up” while the Feds dither.

Thus, I keep coming back to a perspective that we had better work these problems “from the bottom up” as best we can if we ever want to see our homes, families and friends protected.

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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