The man generally known as the architect of what’s termed “effects based operations,” Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, set the tone for representatives from all combatant commands at a US Pacific Command-sponsored EBO workshop. (Read Deptula’s 2001 article in Air Force Magazine.) Deptula, who is commander of the Kenney warfighting center at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, told attendees that EBO is “not a process” and it shouldn’t be turned into “a tactic, technique, or procedure.” And, he maintains it is “not service specific.” Deptula describes EBO as a “methodology or a way of thinking” that “needs to supplement tried-and-true practices of military force application.” That methodology would include all options—from diplomatic to military—to achieve strategic objectives.
After years of describing to lawmakers and Pentagon leaders the nature of that threat and the key role spacepower plays in deterring conflict in the domain and enabling the rest of the joint force, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman told reporters during AFA’s Warfare Symposium here that the message appears to…