Post 283 Gets a Glimpse of U.S. Space Defense

Looking for a way to embrace our nation’s newest branch of service, Ronald Reagan Palisades Post 283 Commander Jim Cragg reached out to the US Space Force to set up a Legion-sponsored family day for Legion Family and USSF families.  As a focal point, he requested a guest speaker to give a presentation to educate our Legion members on the Space Force’s mission, structure and personnel, and most importantly, how the Legion can support USSF Veterans and their families.

Not far from Post 283’s headquarters in Pacific Palisades is the Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, home of the Space Systems Command, which functions as a subordinate unit of USSF. The Space Force was created in December 2019 and acts as an independent military service within the Department of the Air Force, much like the Marine Corps operates within the Department of the Navy. It’s the first new military service created in more than 70 years.

“We didn’t have a lot of connection with the Air Force,” Cragg said. “So this is an opportunity for us as Legionaries to embrace a brand new branch of service. And we’re going to be engaging Space Force veterans and bringing them into the Legion in the not-too-distant future, so it behooves us to learn more about them and what they’re doing.”

The Space Force’s mission is to guard against potential adversaries who have long recognized America’s dependence and benefits of space for communications, financial networks, weather monitoring, transportation and scientific exploration. Morgan Stanley estimates the global space industry could generate more than $1 trillion in revenue by 2040.

“There’s a lot going on in the atmosphere, a lot of expansion and movement—and a lot of threats,” Cragg added before introducing 1st Lt. Adeeb Islam who joined the Space Force less than a year ago.

Due to classified information, Islam’s briefing was confined to a half dozen pre-approved PowerPoint slides.

While the Space Force was launched approximately three years ago, Islam said three military branches had been working to defend our assets in space for the last 30 years but there was no flow of information between them. And what those branches realized was that U.S. competitors and adversaries were speeding ahead in terms of technological capabilities. So he felt that the establishment of U.S. Space Force as a branch of service was inevitable and a long time in the making.

“So we created a new branch to make sure we’re not falling behind,” he said. “That’s why we have the Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center creating innovative prototypes to combat threats that we haven’t even experienced yet.“

Islam said the Air Force’s space missions were winding down at the time the new branch was created, and most of the Army and Navy space programs have since been consolidated into the Space Force.

What’s changed exponentially he said is that combating our adversaries has become a lot more precise with the emphasis on intelligence and placing assets in the right places, including high above the ground and maritime battlefield.

Sixteen thousand airmen, largely from U.S. Space Command, were automatically assigned to the Space Force in December 2019. The new service then performed a “scrub” of all Air Force units with space mission functions and identified 1,840 additional Air Force personnel for transfer from 23 units, ranging from the 18th Intel Squadron at Wright-Patterson AFB Ohio to the AFRL Rocket Propulsion Division at Edwards AFB California, according to The War Horse, a nonprofit news organization.

The Los Angeles Air Force Base, where Islam is stationed, houses about 4,000 with 1,500 military personnel, 1,500 civilians and 1,000 contractors.

Comparing it to how the Air Force was “probably” launched in 1947, he said “it is very chaotic, we’re completely influx and we’ll go through changes every three months…so it’s exciting, it’s difficult and there’s a steep learning curve.”

When asked what is unique about the Space Force Guardian’s experience and what the Legion should know, the lieutenant responded “the stresses of the job in Space Force are around the clock. Because of the rapidly evolving field and the global nature, the phone can ring at any hour of the night and that can impact the families as well.”

Islam, who studied economics and the Middle East, admitted that he was more of a “business guy” coming into the Space Force and had to rewire his brain, studying engineering, systems administration, orbital dynamics, etc.

In closing, Islam thanked Post 283 for the support it had recently provided to two military families stationed at the Los Angeles Air Force Base.

Post 283’s family event was held at the LAX Flight Path Museum, which is the only aviation museum and research center (among five museums) that is situated at a major airport and the only facility, according to the museum’s website, with a primary emphasis on contributions of civil aviation to the history and development of Southern California.