Plus Texana: The Case for a Space Force Academy

When looking at the past for guidance in matters concerning grand strategy, states often look to the grand contests between bygone powers that decided the balance of power of the era. Particular attention has been paid to the writings authored by those strategists that possessed the unique qualities that were able to accomplish the arduous task of shifting power and influence in their nation’s favour. However, very little attention has been paid to the institutions that molded such figures into the individuals they were to become. While not every graduate may not be akin to the individuals of great note that have been mentioned previously, it is important to understand the impact that said institutions might impart upon their pupils. More importantly, such schools have played an indispensable role in the national security of the states they are chartered within.

Military Academies of the Past

Such military academies of the preceding powers that came before the United States were established long before the conflicts that shaped our modern era. This modern era has been defined by a movement away from hard power in strategic considerations towards the inauguration of multilateral institutions and a rapid expansion of global commerce(Christian, Kott, and Matejka 2018, 5). One of the most integral components for a state to compete in the post-war order has been the ability to augment one’s soft power in order to engage in trade with other nations and to enter into treaties to preserve the economic prosperity they aspire to achieve(Nye 2004, 255). Though scholars may view the military academies belonging to historical powers to be antiquated institutions whose instruction should be viewed within the context of military history, these schools were created with the intention of meeting the needs of the nation.

For instance, the formulation of educational reforms by such Prussian figures as David Gerhard von Scharnhorst that would lead to the establishment of academies would be done in the backdrop of Prussian defeats in the Napoleonic era (Newland 2005, 55-62). Without the desire of Prussia to play a greater role in European affairs, the composition of the Prussian officer corps and the instruction of its military leadership would be uncompetitive within the region it occupied, as Napoleonic reforms would become standard among continental militaries. Although Napoleonic France had for the most part had a military command comprised of those whose merit provided them the launching pad for them to occupy their station, the Kingdom of Prussia still had their nobility entrenched as generals. To combat this, Scharnhorst strived to provide the officers of his kingdom with a more holistic education to mitigate the potential shortcomings of their senior military officials.

Military academies have also demonstrated that they can instill the professionalism needed for a nation’s armed forces to effectively provide a national defence. Among historical powers, there are fewer more obvious examples than the military academies of the United Kingdom. Much like its continental counterparts, elites had come to represent a significant portion of Britain’s officers at the onset of the Great War and up until the Second World War (Otley 1973, 191-209). Additionally, it also had similar issues to other powers within the British officer corps in regard to its internal culture—where the traditional sentiments of the nineteenth century clashed with the realities of the modern war brought by the twentieth century (Travers 1982, 523-544). To overcome these hurdles, they instituted several reforms within its military after the conclusion of the Boer War in 1902. Furthermore, such institutions as Sandhurst and Woolwich would play a complementary role alongside other reforms for the English to instill in their officer class the necessary professionalism needed for a modern war (Duncan 2016, 1-230). They were able to accomplish this effort by recommending a more practical curriculum and experiential style of instruction.

The Birth of The American Service Academy

The roots of the first service academy within the United States extend back into its Revolutionary period. During this era, there were many questions that were debated from matters of governance to commerce. One such matter, that pertained to the establishment of what would become West Point, was the discourse of whether a military academy should be created. This debate would occur as early as 1793 when Washington would suggest its creation(Crackel 1981, 529-543). President Jefferson would initially have reservations on the subject due to ideological reasons but he came to establish the academy in 1802 through legislation (United States Military Academy West Point 2019). In its infancy, the curriculum of West Point was quite rudimentary and produced more of those proficient in the use of artillery than that engineering of which the academy would become famous for producing. Through its establishment, the academy would become a model for the nation’s additional service academies and serve as an institution whose cadets went on to provide leadership through the country’s most momentous conflicts.

The Space Force and its Peers

The newest American uniformed service was established in late December 2019 in order to strengthen the country’s spatial capabilities (Farley 2020). Presently, these capabilities exist across many different agencies and departments, and the difficulty of unifying these capabilities has cast doubt upon the functionality of the fledgling service. In addition to this challenge, the U.S. Space Force must develop a doctrine for the projection and implementation of Space Power when both itself, as well as the strategic concept it hopes to develop, are both in their infancy. Although this may seem like a new and daunting frontier for the Space Force to undertake, it is not without precedence. Calls for strategic development within the realm of space began as early as 1983 when President Reagan called for the creation of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) (Strauss 2021). He would not call for the development of a uniformed service, but rather a technology to safeguard the nation from missiles in multiple domains through the use of lasers. The program would ultimately not see fruition as the Cold War ended, but as the initiative enters what would be nearly a half-century anniversary, it is imperative to create not only the technology which our predecessors envisioned along with the personnel to augment its capabilities.

With regards to our allies, there has been some consideration on their part as well to the expansion of strategic thought within the realm of space. A notable example of this has been this year’s release of the first UK Defence Space Strategy (DSS) by the United Kingdom. Within this framework, they hope to bolster their capabilities in space with detailed specifications on how they plan to budget to do so but provide little in means of assessing their progress into meeting their goals (Suess 2022). Much like the SDI of the 20th century, the DSS hopes to primarily invest in technology and infrastructure which is cognizant of the nation’s commitments in such organizations as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. To best support the role which the UK seeks, it recognizes that it must exercise a more integrated approach across not just the ministries pertinent to the DSS, but to civilian stakeholders as well(Retter, Black, and Ogden, 2022). While this may seem especially pertinent to a state with limited experience in the domain of space seeking to bolster its capacities, it is necessary for any space-faring state.

Texas, A Future Academy, and its Applications

Recently, they have been key developments within the Space Force as it has attempted to define itself as distinct from the U.S. Air Force. The new branch has established its very own war college from which they may originate the service as a distinct branch as well as doctrine relevant to its mission. However, to further delineate the Space Force from the other uniformed services as well as to best fulfill its mandate, it must be provided with the required setting that has been afforded to the other branches for their maturation, namely that being an academy. The issue is finding the newest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces the most suitable home to provide the basis for American Space Power.

That issue is not as difficult as one might believe because there is a state with a high degree of infrastructure for the establishment of a service academy. With a growing trend in the aerospace sector to federal agencies to partner with the private sector, Texas has both private companies such as Space X along with the storied Johnson Space Center whose resources would align with the desire to create a more integrated framework to support spatial capabilities (Davenport 2022). On the subject of education, a potential academy would have to be in proximity to research centers such as the Strauss Center for International Security and Law located within the University of Texas at Austin and the Rice Space Institute that is under the auspices of Rice University could lend its resources in the advancement of the academy’s academics in addition to establishing important linkages to academia. Finally, the state is home to Joint Base San Antonio which serves as a nexus for several mission partners such as the U.S. Air Force and would be suitable for a contingent supporting the operations of an academy.

The need to create an institution that will serve the need for the United States to develop credible Space Power in service of not only our interests but the interests of our allies as well, is very clear. In this critical juncture in military history, current literature suggests conventional forms of deterrence have failed to manifest their desired result as hostile powers have become emboldened to violate the sovereignty of their neighbors (Lee et al. 2022). To achieve this most credible deterrence, there must be some truths that a state must accept when trying to develop capabilities for deterrence. The most evident of them is that one form of deterrence can not come at the expense of another. The Russians have in the past expressed an affinity for neo-Eurasianism that has been associated with land power but its capabilities in other domains faltered in Ukraine(Kalinin 2019, 461-470). Much like West Point in its infancy, there exists room for a superintendent to define the curriculum of the academy. However, there are several competencies that a future cadet must have imparted upon them such as cybersecurity and imagery analysis that have demonstrated strategic value (Spidalieri and McArdle 2016, 141-164; Mcauley 2005, 1-45). Open-source intelligence attained through such methods as imagery analysis has played a defining role in the defence of Ukraine and serves as a potential point of integration across relevant stakeholders to augment America’s capacity to have a unified spatial doctrine(Smith-Boyle 2022). Current international law regarding the use of space dictates that its use will be for peaceful purposes (Shah 2022). However this, will most likely be decided by which nations will have the most obvious capacity and presence within the domain to set the terms of engagement. By constructing an academy for the U.S. Space Force, the institution will assist in the security of the 21st century and secure the economy of the 22nd.

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