By Terri Moon Cronk, DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON -- Space is a contested environment, and the
United States must deploy new tools, new capabilities and the right leadership
to ensure dominance in that environment , Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M.
Shanahan said recently.
The deputy secretary spoke Aug. 27 to airmen, civilians and
contractors at Los Angeles Air Force Base’s Space and Missile Systems Center in
El Segundo, California. The SMC, a subordinate unit of Air Force Space Command,
is the center of technical excellence for developing, acquiring, fielding and
sustaining military space systems.
“We’ve got a president who says space is no longer a sanctuary,”
he added. “We need to defend our economy. We need to put in place the
authorities and the capabilities [in space] to protect our way of life --
period.”
Shanahan said in his corporate experience, he’s been through
a transformation similar to what SMC is undertaking. “The first law of
transformation is, do no harm. Our missions are too important. That doesn't
mean we don't take calculated risks or we don't move quickly,” he said.
“But, from the Pentagon's standpoint we're not going to do
harm, and that's why I wanted to come out here and spend some time with you,”
the deputy secretary added.
During the course of the next year, a lot of changes will
take place in terms of technology, roles and responsibilities, he said.
The Right Product
“If we don't choose the right technical solution, we lose.
This … is about physics. It's about capability. And when you pick the wrong
product, no matter how talented the team or how many resources there are, you
lose,” Shanahan said.
“This is about development and programmatics. Acquisition is
a huge enabler, but getting the product right is, in my mind, the most
important thing we can do,” he added.
It’s also vital to put a plan in place that achieves
performance, the deputy secretary said. “We have to have clear goals. Without
clear goals, the team can't practice what I call ‘selectful neglect.’ We have
-- in large organizations like this -- competing priorities, and if the goals
aren't clear, then it just creates too much confusion.”
Having the right leaders in place also is critical, he said.
“There are so many great people that work in the Department of Defense, so we
have the talent. We just need to put them into the right roles.”
And, Shanahan said, “the hidden secret sauce is engagement
of the team. When the team is engaged, they reward you with discretionary
effort. And when you have that kind of environment, it is really fun and
energizing to come to work.”
As for innovation, he noted, “you find the really great
leaders, because they'll put the project or the program ahead of their own
careers, and that's the kind of culture we want at the end of the day -- [the]
people who are mission-oriented, first and foremost.”
Organizing Around Capability
Organizations should be centered around the capability DoD
wants to deploy and the resources it needs to deploy them, the deputy secretary
noted.
“If you want to know what I think about the Space Force
[it’s this]: How do we deliver warfighting capability more quickly?” Shanahan
said.
Other key priorities, he said, are how to give the Missile
Defense Agency more capability to do “birth-to-death tracking” of ballistic
missiles and other cold objects in space, and how to operate in a GPS-denied
environment.
“If we're really serious about being combat credible,
forward-deployed, you're going to have to operate in GPS-denied environments.
We have to get after that capability,” Shanahan added.
The deputy secretary said DoD also can go a lot faster with
dynamic space situational awareness. “We're standing on the air hose with
technology that can be readily deployed. We can go faster.”
DoD Command, Control
Command and control at the DoD level will set the foundation
to do what's important, Shanahan said.
“And whether we say it is the legacy of the SMC or the
department, but you know the capability emerging to do persistent surveillance
of the globe, the amount of data that we'll be able to collect and parse that
in the decision tools to aid the war fighter, that'll create a time constant that
is going to be you know, unbeatable,” he added.
DoD will create the environment and infrastructure to
provide data to the warfighter, Shanahan said.
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