WASHINGTON — On Oct. 1, the Army created its newest major command — the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC). The Army redesignated U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command, formerly a field operating agency of the Army Chief of Staff, to reflect its added responsibilities and missions. In its new role, SMDC serves as the Army Component Command to the joint U.S. Space Command, the specified proponent for space and national missile defense, the materiel developer for assigned programs, and the Army's integrator for theater missile defense. The command ensures that Army warfighters have: access to space assets and the products they provide to win decisively with minimum casualties, and effective missile defense to protect the nation as well as deployed U.S. forces and those of its allies. To fulfill its new responsibilities, SMDC has restructured its assets. The command has formed the Space and Missile Defense Battle Lab, focusing the Army's space and missile defense efforts, and linking its efforts with TRADOC battle labs. The newly created Force Development and Integration Center in Arlington, Va., will perform the proponent functions of doctrine, training, leader development, organizations, materiel, and soldier support for space and national missile defense. Another organizational element, the Space and Missile Defense Acquisition Center in Huntsville, Ala., will centralize the command's materiel development, targets and test facility management into one overarching organization that will include the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS - formerly Aerostat) Project Office in Huntsville; the Ballistic Missile Targets Joint Program Office in Huntsville; the Army Space Program Office in Fairfax, Va.; the High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.; and the Kwajalein Missile Range in the central Pacific. The director of this center is dual-hatted as the deputy commanding general of SMDC. For additional information, call Mr. Mike Biddle or Mr. John Cummings at SMDC Public Affairs, (703) 607-1938. This document is available on ArmyLINK, at http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/ More Bits and Pieces News Experts Split over New Role for National Guard British to Review Executions of WWI Deserters U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) Dog Tags with Bytes US Women in Uniform Ceremony US Nuclear Test Films US Buys MiGs to Keep them from Rogue States Back to Cry Havoc #20 Table of Contents Back to Cry Havoc List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by David W. Tschanz. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com