Lt. General James (JIm) Dickinson Commander of Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command and Colorado State University alumnus gives the Keynote speach at the 2018 Veterans Symposium, Leadership: The Current Generation of Veterans, at Canvas Stadium, September 7, 2018.
US Space Command Chief: “Our current challenge is the Chinese”
James Dickinson, recalled the recent recovery of lunar rocks by China and its efforts to build its own space station.
China is not only the main challenge for US ground forces, but also represents it in space, as stated this Saturday by James Dickinson, head of the US Space Command, during a visit to Japan.
“Our current challenge is the Chinese, so we are seeing how they are increasing their space capacity,” said Dickinson. “We are seeing the expansion of its space program and we are watching it very closely,” the command chief said, recalling China’s recent recovery of moon rocks and its efforts to build its own space station.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) recalls that global powers such as China, Russia and the US have resisted placing weapons in space or destroying assets, such as satellites, of other nations. However, it underlines at the same time that the placement of weapons in space remains likely unless it is countered by effective international opposition.
“We are looking at what our competitors are doing in space,” added Dickinson.
As he explained, if any conflict arose, his Command would take advantage of the capabilities of the US Space Force and other military branches, communicating with them and accessing the global positioning and navigation data they need to support air and maritime operations and terrestrial.
During his first trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic began, Dickinson met with Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi; the Minister of State for Space Policy, Shinji Inoue; the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, Koji Yamazaki, and with the chief of the Japan Air Self-Defense Forces, Shunji Izutsu.
