Photo By Ronald Bailey | Lt. Gen. Daniel L. Karbler, commanding general, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense...... read more read more
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REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama – Traditionally, incoming commanding generals use the 100-day mark in their new command to reflect on what they have learned and focus on the elements of the command and the goals and objectives they set when taking charge.
These are not traditional times, however. Since the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and the nation as a whole, is in the midst of a war against a global pandemic, COVID-19, Lt. Gen. Daniel L. Karbler chose instead to highlight what the command is doing to help the Army, the Department of Defense and the nation.
“I knew quite a bit about SMDC and the Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense from my time as chief of staff at U.S. Strategic Command,” Karbler said. “The daily support SMDC and JFCC IMD provide STRATCOM, SPACECOM and NORTHCOM and the no-fail missions SMDC executes around the clock, is a real eye-opener.
“Toss in support for our sister services, the combatant commanders, the government, and our allies, and you begin to see the significant impact we have upon defending our nation and its warfighters,” he said.
Karbler then recounted the efforts USASMDC is bringing to the war against COVID-19 and to protect the nation.
“We’re providing force tracking capabilities to NORTHCOM, Joint Task Force Civil Support and the National Guard Bureau in support of the national COVID-19 response,” Karbler said. “This includes 24/7 friendly force tracking/blue force tracking collection and data management, dissemination and technical expertise for FFT/BFT systems supporting pandemic response.”
FFT/BFT systems provide shared situational awareness, command, control and communications between commanders and field assets via the NORTHCOM Common Operational Picture and other tactical display systems. FFT/BFT is being used on personnel, ground vehicles, aircraft and watercraft.
The U.S. Army Satellite Operations Brigade is working around-the-clock, supporting the wideband and narrowband satellite communications requirements of DOD, government, agencies and allies.
“We’re also supporting COVID-19 requirements across the U.S.” Karbler said. “SMDC played a key role in standing up communications for the USNS Mercy, obtaining all the SATCOM required to support her mission.”
SMDC and JFCC IMD continue to provide America’s first and last lines of defense, as they execute their no-fail space and missile defense missions.
“This includes providing theater-wide early warning from missile attacks, protection against an intercontinental ballistic missile attack, training the Army’s space and missile defense Soldiers, and supporting DOD missile tests,” Karbler said. “Just last month, the (Ronald) Reagan (Ballistic Missile Defense) Test Site successfully supported testing of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body. That support begins long before the actual test and ends long after the C-HGB hits its target.”
Karbler noted that the most important element of the command by far, was its people.
“The people who work here are just amazing. The expertise, professionalism and dedication to the mission at SMDC and JFCC IMD are incredible,” Karbler said. “I’m impressed with the missions we’re doing and the breadth of those missions. We cover space, missile defense, high altitude, directed energy and hypersonic support - it’s just incredible.”
Looking beyond the current pandemic, Karbler said that a major project over the next year will be working with U.S. Space Force as they gain a clearer understanding of what roles and missions they will assume and what space capabilities will remain with the Army and USASMDC.
“We’ve got to understand the Space Force’s roles and missions, how it will function, and the capabilities they will need as a service,” Karbler said. “We have to stay engaged with that and we have to make sure we clearly identify the Army space capabilities that need to stay resident within the Army. This is critically important as we look to the future and our support to multi-domain operations, and our direct contributions to the multi-domain task force and the Intelligence, Information, Cyber, Electronic Warfare, and Space battalion."
| Date Taken: | 04.08.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.08.2020 11:26 |
| Story ID: | 366853 |
| Location: | REDSTONE ARSENAL, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 114 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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