Space Assets: Key Combat Enabler for Multinational Force West

Abstract : UFO, GPS, DSP. What do these three acronyms have in common? If you answered Space, as in "the final frontier," then you're absolutely correct. Each acronym (UFO - Ultrahigh Frequency Follow-On, GPS - Global Positioning System and DSP - Defense Support Program) represents a different constellation of Department of Defense satellites; satellites that provide critical combat support to warfighters around the globe. Those Space professionals reading this will see this opening statement as a real "duh" kind of thing, but to a group of U.S. Marines who knew nothing about space support, they became central to acquiring support they never dreamed possible. In Iraq, Space teams are supporting the division, multinational corps, and combined air and ground component headquarters levels, all of whom are supporting the Global War on Terror.