Space Soldiers?

USA Today reported October 15 that the U.S. Defense Department wants to be able to "rocket troops through space to hot spots anywhere on the globe within two hours." I know it sounds crazy, but it appears the Pentagon is looking very far into the future.

Now, I know we're trying to make a smaller, faster, lighter, more mobile force, better able to rapidly deploy to global trouble spots, but rocketing through space? According to the article, "Civilian and military officials held a two-day conference at the National Security Space Office to plan development of the Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion (SUSTAIN) program." The conference invitation reportedly referred to the idea of rocketing soldiers through space as a "potential revolutionary step in getting combat power to any point in the world in a timeframe unachievable today."

The article mentions the Marine Corps as the originator of the idea, citing a Marine Corps document that states the need for the "capability to transport small, mission-tailored units through space from any point on the globe to a contingency at any other point on the globe."

Okay, I have to admit I'm a bit wary of this. Such an undertaking has got be prohibitively expensive, and I'd love to see the cost-benefit analysis for transporting a small group of soldiers through space. I'd bet it's ugly.

Now, I'm not saying we don't need to be able to get troops to hot spots as quickly as possible. The faster the better. But I think a reality check is needed here. We recognized a long time ago that our military was too heavy and took too long to get from point A to point B. That's the driving force behind current transformation efforts, including moving from a division-based force to a brigade combat team-based force, and efforts to convert to a modular structure. Perhaps one day we'll be able to realistically afford the transport of soldiers through space. For that reason, research into the issue should continue. But it should not be done at the expense of preparing our forces for the very real crises they are facing now, and will face in the foreseeable future.

The SUSTAIN program would include life-support systems and weapons for 13 soldiers, be able to launch vertically, skirt foreign airspace by using space for travel, and be able to conduct a round trip without the need for refueling, USA Today says.