The vision itself isn’t the only thing that is needed, industry sources say. A concept of operations is required for how the Air Force will manage different user needs and interact with different industry providers. “The vision is out, but there is no concept of operations,” said one source.

CFSCC’s mission includes executing “tactical control over globally dispersed Air Force, Army, and Navy space units that command satellites in every orbital regime.”

“Gen. Raymond has asked me, in particular, to make sure that we are incorporating all aspects of space warfighting … into our curriculum.”

The official decision about the headquarters of SPACECOM isn’t likely until mid- or late October.

If the US receives intelligence that Russia is prepping a strike against a US satellite, does SPACECOM task a drone or a B-21 bomber to take it out before it launches? Or does Gen. Raymond choose to simply maneuver the targeted satellite out of the way?

“Right now space is a supporting element to a geographic [component command] … but that paradigm is going to flip over time, where the supported command — the primacy, where the actions will happen first — is going to be space,” says Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella, head of Air Force Central Command.

A new AFSPC study posits a possible future — named after ancient Chinese warlord Zhang He — where China dominates space even as human presence vastly expands to the Moon and beyond.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Stephen Whiting is the new head of SPACECOM’s Combined Force Space Component Command; Gen. Tom James leads the new Joint Task Force Space Defense.

President Donald Trump, at the White House Rose Garden, said: “Our adversaries are weaponizing Earth’s orbits with new technology targeting American satellites that are critical to both battlefield operations and our way of life at home. Our freedom to operate in space is also essential to detecting and destroying any missile launched against the United States.”

If the new Acting Secretary of the Air Force, Matt Donovan, is looking for someone who can “unleash the power of space’ he should look to the bold leadership of Steve Kwast and recommend his nomination to be the first Space Force Commander.