According to Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), the Air Force is considering “gutting Air Force Space Command” to help “pay some big bills in the future.” Allard and co-chair of the bicameral Space Caucus, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), are leading a bipartisan charge to prevent the Air Force from levying upon Space Command any portion of its five-year plan to cut some 40,000 military and civilian positions. Allard said in a joint statement, that AFSPC is “already stretched thin by the increased operational tempo and the endless demand for greater capability from its assets.” Harman maintains that the service “has better options if it wants to cut inefficiency.”
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
