Space Command Lives: “Lots of rumors” that Air Force Space Command will be downgraded to less than a major command and headed by a three-star general are untrue, according to its acting chief, Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz. He assured reporters during media roundtable Thursday that USAF’s top leadership recognizes AFSPC’s value in “enabling sea, air, and ground forces” to perform their missions, and that the command will remain a major command. Gen. Lance Lord stepped down as Space Command chief at the beginning of March, and the lack of an announced replacement fueled rumors of a command shakeup. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), co-chair of the Congressional Space Caucus, upon hearing the rumors, wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld promising to fight any downgrade in AFSPC’s status.
The Pentagon’s new counter-drone task force will play a direct role in arming Airmen with new weapons to defend Air Force agile combat employment, or ACE, air bases in austere locations against enemy drone attacks, the director of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 said Oct. 14.
