By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 17, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today praised Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton as the general ceremonially took the reins of U.S. Strategic Command. Gates said Chilton, who began his tenure at STRATCOM on Oct. 3 after having commanded Air Force Space Command, has the skills and experience to lead the command forward in its critical role in the fight against terrorist threats.
Speaking at today's assumption-of-command ceremony at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., the secretary pointed to Chilton's long, trail-blazing career as prime experience for the STRATCOM job. Chilton was a test pilot on the F-4 Phantom II and F-15 Eagle aircraft, laid new groundwork during assignments at Air Force Space Command, and served as an astronaut aboard three space shuttle missions.
Chilton will tap into this experience to help the United States confront some of the most destructive threats it faces. These include terrorist groups working to get control of weapons of mass destruction and potential adversaries who might leverage information and space technologies to threaten the United States and its interests.
Gates called space-based capabilities critical in stopping the proliferation of dangerous materials. "It is through space that we can monitor the weapons we already know exist," he said. "It is through space that we can track adversaries attempting to acquire these weapons and then do something about it. It is through space that our troops and our leadership monitor the battlefield and communicate with each other.
"Therefore," Gates continued, "it is space that we must protect, especially as we expand its use."
China's successful test of an anti-satellite weapon earlier this year reinforced the importance of maintaining unfettered access to space, he said. "This test and other developments show that our own near-earth satellites are vulnerable and must be protected," he said.
As a former CIA director, Gates said he understands the importance of a strong intelligence-gathering system and the need to analyze that intelligence and plan a U.S. response.
He told Chilton he's confident the general will be able to tackle the challenges ahead and build on the accomplishments Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright began during his three years at STRATCOM. Cartwright served as commander until August, when he became the eighth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Cartwright "flattened the organization," speeding up information flow throughout the command, Gates said. He also introduced the Global Innovation and Strategy Center, which brings together outside experts to focus on a specific issue, brainstorming solutions and developing recommendations for STRATCOM leaders to follow up on.
Gates said he knew filling Cartwright's shoes at STRATCOM would be challenging, but that he believes Chilton is the person to take the command forward. "General Chilton, we look to you for the way ahead during these turbulent times," he said.
Chilton said he feels honored to lead the organization that is "called on to be the most responsive combatant command in the U.S. arsenal."
He noted STRATCOM's broad responsibilities. "We are responsible today for providing the secretary of defense time-sensitive planning to conduct global strike operations anywhere on the planet. We are tasked to conduct operations in support of the global fight we are engaged in today," he said. "And we are tasked to be the masters and defenders of domains that have become ever more critical, not only to the way we fight as a nation, but to our way of life as a nation ... -- the domains of space and cyberspace."
With the "tsunami change" that ushered in STRATCOM's reorganization and adoption of a 24/7 operational mission beginning to settle, Chilton said, he's ready to increase the command's focus on future threats as well as today's fight.
"The type of combat we will face in the 21st century will go beyond the physical force on force and the battles of centuries gone by," he said. It will require "innovation, ... speed, agility and focus."
He called the men and women serving at STRATCOM "just the team America needs to defend her today and tomorrow."
"I am excited and proud and humbled to join this great team in our noble endeavor," Chilton said.
Showing posts with label stratcom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stratcom. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
STRATCOM Commander: Safe, Reliable Deterrence Critical to Defense
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
March 21, 2007 – As the United States works to reduce its nuclear weapons stockpile, it must ensure it has enough safe, reliable weapons -- both nuclear and conventional -- to deter against the threats it faces, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command told the House Armed Services Committee today. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright joined the commanders of U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Transportation Command and U.S. Southern Command during a hearing on the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Budget request.
The threats facing the United States -- whether from conventional nation-states, rogue states, extremists, or even cyber-terrorists -- are broader than ever before, he noted. That's driven the entire military, including STRATCOM, in an effort to "define a deterrent strategy for the 21st century and the capabilities necessary to lend credibility to that deterrent," he said.
Cartwright reported solid strides toward meeting objectives of the Moscow Treaty, which sets limits in both the U.S. and Russian active nuclear stockpiles. Both counties are ahead of the schedule leading to 2012 in drawing down their stocks, he said.
The U.S. goal, Cartwright said, is to have the "lowest number of nuclear weapons for national security."
But while moving forward to carry out mandates of the Moscow Treaty, "we need to increase our other capabilities as alternatives and replacements for the drawdown of the nuclear weapons that we have in our stockpile," Cartwright told the committee.
The current stockpile is being refurbished "to ensure the weapons that we have are the safest they can be for the people who use them and handle them, that they are as secure as modern technology will allow us to make them, and that they are reliable," he said.
He cited progress under way in developing a reliable replacement warhead to sustain the country's nuclear weapons stockpile for the long term without underground nuclear testing. Cartwright has described that system, now entering its second study phase, as a key component in transforming the aging Cold War nuclear weapons stockpile.
A key feature, he said, is that the reliable replacement warhead requires no new delivery vehicle.
"This is taking my 1966 Mustang and making sure that it has got four-wheel disc brakes, it's got seat belts, it's got all of the things that it ought to have to be responsible, to maintain control over and be able to use and develop these weapons in a safe, secure way," he explained. "That is our intention with the reliable replacement warhead."
Once fielded, the system will ensure the United States can respond to both technological and political surprise while reducing its current stockpile of nuclear warheads, Cartwright said.
The general cited a gap in existing defense capabilities that weigh heavily on a nuclear response.
"Today, if something happens quickly and we need to respond quickly, the only choice we have in a global capability is a nuclear weapon," he said. "That is unacceptable for the range of threats we are going to face in the future. We need a conventional capability (more appropriate to other scenarios)."
Another factor in a credible defense is a balanced offense-defense capability, he said. "Offense is not always the right answer, and it is usually where you don't want to end up," Cartwright said. "What we want to be able to do is to drive this to a nonconfrontational issue."
A defensive capability gives the United States the ability to defuse threats before they escalate, he said.
Cartwright pointed to proliferation of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, noting that the country must be able to discourage adversaries from using them. "How do you make the governments who have them think twice about using them ... and about the effect they are doing to have?" he said.
Similarly, the United States must be ready to deal with the proliferation of cruise missiles, particularly in light of their increased sophistication. Cartwright said STRATCOM is convinced the best defense isn't a system dedicated specifically to cruise missiles.
"You want to leverage the lessons that we've learned and the capabilities in command and control and sensor management that we've learned in ballistic missiles and apply that to cruise missiles rather than building a separate system," he said. "And that is the path that we are on."
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 21, 2007 – As the United States works to reduce its nuclear weapons stockpile, it must ensure it has enough safe, reliable weapons -- both nuclear and conventional -- to deter against the threats it faces, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command told the House Armed Services Committee today. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright joined the commanders of U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Transportation Command and U.S. Southern Command during a hearing on the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Budget request.
The threats facing the United States -- whether from conventional nation-states, rogue states, extremists, or even cyber-terrorists -- are broader than ever before, he noted. That's driven the entire military, including STRATCOM, in an effort to "define a deterrent strategy for the 21st century and the capabilities necessary to lend credibility to that deterrent," he said.
Cartwright reported solid strides toward meeting objectives of the Moscow Treaty, which sets limits in both the U.S. and Russian active nuclear stockpiles. Both counties are ahead of the schedule leading to 2012 in drawing down their stocks, he said.
The U.S. goal, Cartwright said, is to have the "lowest number of nuclear weapons for national security."
But while moving forward to carry out mandates of the Moscow Treaty, "we need to increase our other capabilities as alternatives and replacements for the drawdown of the nuclear weapons that we have in our stockpile," Cartwright told the committee.
The current stockpile is being refurbished "to ensure the weapons that we have are the safest they can be for the people who use them and handle them, that they are as secure as modern technology will allow us to make them, and that they are reliable," he said.
He cited progress under way in developing a reliable replacement warhead to sustain the country's nuclear weapons stockpile for the long term without underground nuclear testing. Cartwright has described that system, now entering its second study phase, as a key component in transforming the aging Cold War nuclear weapons stockpile.
A key feature, he said, is that the reliable replacement warhead requires no new delivery vehicle.
"This is taking my 1966 Mustang and making sure that it has got four-wheel disc brakes, it's got seat belts, it's got all of the things that it ought to have to be responsible, to maintain control over and be able to use and develop these weapons in a safe, secure way," he explained. "That is our intention with the reliable replacement warhead."
Once fielded, the system will ensure the United States can respond to both technological and political surprise while reducing its current stockpile of nuclear warheads, Cartwright said.
The general cited a gap in existing defense capabilities that weigh heavily on a nuclear response.
"Today, if something happens quickly and we need to respond quickly, the only choice we have in a global capability is a nuclear weapon," he said. "That is unacceptable for the range of threats we are going to face in the future. We need a conventional capability (more appropriate to other scenarios)."
Another factor in a credible defense is a balanced offense-defense capability, he said. "Offense is not always the right answer, and it is usually where you don't want to end up," Cartwright said. "What we want to be able to do is to drive this to a nonconfrontational issue."
A defensive capability gives the United States the ability to defuse threats before they escalate, he said.
Cartwright pointed to proliferation of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, noting that the country must be able to discourage adversaries from using them. "How do you make the governments who have them think twice about using them ... and about the effect they are doing to have?" he said.
Similarly, the United States must be ready to deal with the proliferation of cruise missiles, particularly in light of their increased sophistication. Cartwright said STRATCOM is convinced the best defense isn't a system dedicated specifically to cruise missiles.
"You want to leverage the lessons that we've learned and the capabilities in command and control and sensor management that we've learned in ballistic missiles and apply that to cruise missiles rather than building a separate system," he said. "And that is the path that we are on."
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
