Research at Redstone to receive a boost

Outgoing SMDC chief says satellite work to be priority

Friday, August 18, 2006

By SHELBY G. SPIRES

Times Aerospace Writer shelby.spires@htimes.com

The Army's Space & Missile Defense Command will increase its focus on research and development as the major part of the Missile Defense Agency moves to Redstone Arsenal, the command's outgoing leader, Army Lt. Gen. Larry Dodgen, said Thursday.

Space & Missile Defense headquarters and much of the Missile Defense Agency's work are scheduled to move from Arlington, Va., before 2011 as part of a 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision.

Dodgen said the Space & Missile Defense Command, or SMDC, already works closely with the Missile Defense Agency, or MDA, and with the Air Force in areas such as research and development and satellites, but more research work will come to Huntsville to support new Army programs such as the Future Combat System.

The Future Combat System would be a family of aircraft, tanks and robots that will be linked by satellite communications. SMDC research is a cornerstone of these weapons, many of them taking soldiers out of the threat of battle.

Dodgen, who has headed SMDC since 2003 but soon will cede command to Maj. Gen. Kevin T. Campbell, spoke to military and defense leaders at the close of this week's Space Missile Defense Conference at the Von Braun Center.

Dodge said that over the next five years more space-related research and development, and purchase or acquisition work, will be required of SMDC engineers, mostly in Huntsville. The goal is to provide tools that soldiers need to use satellite networks in combat.

SMDC satellites move critical information such as the location of friendly and enemy troops to commanders across the battlefield, and constellations of Army-controlled satellites provide voice, data and video to military leaders and decision-makers.

Dodgen said SMDC is the only Army command that supplies the satellites and other "space-based" tools to soldiers.

"One thing that belongs solely to SMDC is space control for the Army," Dodgen said. "We need to ensure that our space capabilities serve the United States Army, and we also need to make sure the Army is not held hostage to others' space" capabilities.

Other agencies may have different priorities and could leave Army soldiers in the lurch during battle. Dodgen said SMDC was formed in 1997 to make sure that did not happen.

"The idea then was that there are very important (space) missions not at the forefront of Army business," Dodgen said. Army leaders "did not want to lose out on that potential when they formed this command."

Dodgen plans to meet with the previous eight SMDC commanders by the end of the month and use their experience and knowledge to map out strategies for the command's future, he said. "We do that every year," he said.

The command also has overall responsibility for the soldiers who run the Global Missile Defense system in Colorado Springs, Colo., which is designed to counter missile threats from North Korea and Iran.

Col. Roger Mathews, deputy commander for SMDC operations in Arlington, told the conference Thursday that the July 4 launch of North Korean rockets worked as a test of the ground-based missile defense system.

"We learned so much from that, and we have a better system today because of it," he said.

Keeping a missile defense edge will rest more and more with Huntsville workers, Mathews said.

"With a larger footprint in Huntsville," he said, "there will be more responsibilities locally for SMDC."



Research at Redstone to receive a boost Outgoing SMDC chief says satellite work to be priority Friday, August 18, 2006 By SHELBY G. SPIRES Times Aerospace Writer shelby.spires@htimes.com The Army's Space & Missile Defense Command will increase its focus on research and development as the major part of the Missile Defense Agency moves to Redstone Arsenal, the command's outgoing leader, Army Lt. Gen. Larry Dodgen, said Thursday. Space & Missile Defense headquarters and much of the Missile Defense Agency's work are scheduled to move from Arlington, Va., before 2011 as part of a 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision. Dodgen said the Space & Missile Defense Command, or SMDC, already works closely with the Missile Defense Agency, or MDA, and with the Air Force in areas such as research and development and satellites, but more research work will come to Huntsville to support new Army programs such as the Future Combat System. The Future Combat System would be a family of aircraft, tanks and robots that will be linked by satellite communications. SMDC research is a cornerstone of these weapons, many of them taking soldiers out of the threat of battle. Dodgen, who has headed SMDC since 2003 but soon will cede command to Maj. Gen. Kevin T. Campbell, spoke to military and defense leaders at the close of this week's Space Missile Defense Conference at the Von Braun Center. Dodge said that over the next five years more space-related research and development, and purchase or acquisition work, will be required of SMDC engineers, mostly in Huntsville. The goal is to provide tools that soldiers need to use satellite networks in combat. SMDC satellites move critical information such as the location of friendly and enemy troops to commanders across the battlefield, and constellations of Army-controlled satellites provide voice, data and video to military leaders and decision-makers. Dodgen said SMDC is the only Army command that supplies the satellites and other "space-based" tools to soldiers. "One thing that belongs solely to SMDC is space control for the Army," Dodgen said. "We need to ensure that our space capabilities serve the United States Army, and we also need to make sure the Army is not held hostage to others' space" capabilities. Other agencies may have different priorities and could leave Army soldiers in the lurch during battle. Dodgen said SMDC was formed in 1997 to make sure that did not happen. "The idea then was that there are very important (space) missions not at the forefront of Army business," Dodgen said. Army leaders "did not want to lose out on that potential when they formed this command." Dodgen plans to meet with the previous eight SMDC commanders by the end of the month and use their experience and knowledge to map out strategies for the command's future, he said. "We do that every year," he said. The command also has overall responsibility for the soldiers who run the Global Missile Defense system in Colorado Springs, Colo., which is designed to counter missile threats from North Korea and Iran. Col. Roger Mathews, deputy commander for SMDC operations in Arlington, told the conference Thursday that the July 4 launch of North Korean rockets worked as a test of the ground-based missile defense system. "We learned so much from that, and we have a better system today because of it," he said. Keeping a missile defense edge will rest more and more with Huntsville workers, Mathews said. "With a larger footprint in Huntsville," he said, "there will be more responsibilities locally for SMDC." © 2006 The Huntsville Times © 2006 al.com All Rights Reserved.