The nation's space program is supported by several separate agencies, both military and civilian. Because they operate independently using separate systems, coordinating communications, acquisition and planning can be problematic, depending on the project.

Maj. Gen. John T. "Tom" Sheridan, program executive officer and system program director of the Air Force Space Radar Program, was selected as the NRO deputy director and began serving in this position July 31. The NRO develops, builds and operates the nation's reconnaissance satellites.

"The importance of strengthening interagency ties relates to our most valuable resource: people," General Sheridan said. "We are all on the same national security space team, and this new agreement allows for both organizations to collaborate on a number of space professional development efforts as we continue to mature our space force, develop our acquisition core expertise, and compliment one another in a variety of other areas."

Bruce Wilson came to AFSPC from the NRO in September and became the deputy director, Air, Space and Information Operations. With 24 years of combined experience in space systems operations, maintenance, engineering, development, acquisition and program management, Mr. Wilson now serves as the senior NRO advisor to the AFSPC commander.

"The challenge is not so much getting the organizations to work together, but to try and integrate their information systems where the data results come from -- those architectures," said Mr. Wilson. "That's certainly been one of Dr. Kerr's initiatives (Dr. Donald Kerr, NRO director). How can we get the data we generate on the intelligence side out to the warfighting commanders in a more timely manner?

"We're taking the first steps now, getting organizations working together," he said. "The next step is (determining) what kind of acquisition development we need to do to tie together the information infrastructure so that all information data is available to the warfighting commanders. The operations tempo really relies on space-based information for all ops planning and for all mitigation and understanding of what's going on out on the battlefield."

In an article written for the AFSPC High Frontier Journal, Volume 3, Number 1, Lt. Gen. C. Robert Kehler, deputy commander U.S. Strategic Command, explained some of the organization's changes and the philosophy behind them. "We are ... formalizing the relationships between the Joint Functional Component Command for Space and our interagency and commercial partners.

"Specifically, we are enhancing our operational relationships with the National Reconnaissance Office, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency. Strengthening these ties will enhance information sharing among the organizations and is expected to provide a more comprehensive decision-making process."

Working together is not new for the national space security agencies. General Sheridan pointed out that the Air Force and NRO have been partners for many years. "From the Cold War to the Global War on Terrorism, our professionals have been working closely together to support a wide variety of end-users from the intelligence community and the Department of Defense. The unique aspect is working with the many mission partners to include the IC, DoD, legislative and industry."

Both General Sheridan and Mr. Wilson are well-qualified for their new responsibilities. The general, who was the AFSPC Director of Requirements from June 2002 to May 2005, already has a long association with the NRO.

"I've spent a third of my Air Force career in the NRO, and there have been remarkable strides made in the areas of people and mission success," he said. "I've made it a priority to get out to the individual directorates to meet the team and learn about areas where I may be of assistance."

Mr. Wilson's most recent assignment was leading acquisition and system planning of one of the NRO's highest priority collection programs.

"I'm really looking forward to see how we can synergistically combine NRO capabilities with Air Force capabilities to better enable our combatant commanders to do their job," said Mr. Wilson.

This exchange supports the recently released National Space Policy, which states, "The challenges of the 21st century require a focused and dedicated unity of effort. Interagency partnerships provide opportunities to jointly identify desired effects, capabilities and strategies. Departments and agencies shall capitalize on opportunities for dynamic partnerships -- whether through collaboration, information sharing, alignment or integration."

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