Schiess likely to sail through Space Force chief confirmation

WASHINGTON ― With a total of six senators throwing mostly softball questions during his Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) nomination hearing today, Lt. Gen. Doug Schiess is almost certainly a shoo-in as the third Space Force chief.

“General, I think you should take heart from the fact that not all of our members are here today. That’s a compliment to you,” said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine. “[T]he fact that we didn’t have a large turnout is an indication, I believe, of the committee’s confidence in you.”

Noting that Schiess’ hearing was “competing” with the second day of Senate hearings on President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Todd Blanche, King added that “this is a rare case where a small audience is probably better.

Being non-controversial is not a bad thing,” he said.

SASC Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., echoed: “I hope you can accept this compliment, Gen. Schiess.”

King, perhaps unsurprisingly, also was one of the few senators in attendance who touched on any politically tricky issue that Schiess will face as the next chief of space operations ― seeking assurance from Scheiss that the Space Force will not “be duplicating” programs under the purview of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

And citing hopes that good relations with former NRO Director Chris Scolese will continue, Schiess duly pledged that he would ensure against any duplication of effort.

The demarcation lines between NRO and Space Force missions and authorities have been a gray zone of bureaucratic battle since even before the service’s creation in 2019. Recent congressional concern has centered on the increasing entanglement of NRO in Space Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) acquisition programs, including planned buys of satellites to track targets on the ground and in the air.

SASC Ranking Member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., elaborated on those concerns during Tuesday’s nomination hearing for Roger Mason to replace Scolese, who retired on July 10.

In a question for the record due to time constraints, Reed noted that with the air and ground moving target indication mission shifting “primarily to the Space Force, using proliferated satellites,” the NRO “is now acquiring most of those systems on the Space Force’s behalf.

“This is a significant expansion of the NRO’s traditional role and it raises real questions about mission focus and institutional identity. I want to understand how you would manage the NRO’s acquisition role while ensuring the Space Force retains the planned acquisition authority the law requires, and what priorities you have for NRO in this rapidly-evolving environment,” Reed said to Mason Tuesday.

During today’s hearing, Reed also raised a similar line-blurring issue for the Space Force and the Air Force in the realm of electromagnetic warfare (EW).

“It’s important that obviously that you work synergistically with the Air Force on combined efforts, since you’re both in really sort of overlapping spaces. One area of cooperation is electronic warfare, whether it’s on the ground, air, or space. And each service is developing capabilities that, combined, will be better than one individual weapon. What are your views on joint operations and integration with the Air Force in electronic warfare?” he asked.

Citing his experience in joint operations during his two-year term double hatted as the head of the service’s component to US Space Command (SPACECOM), Space Forces-Space, and commander of SPACECOM’s Combined Joint Space Force Component, Schiess said there “is a lot of work” on EW that can be done in cooperation with not just the Air Force, but also the other services.

“The Navy has electromagnetic warfare capabilities, and the Marine Corps is bringing that on too, and then of course the Air Force. And, so I believe that we can be complementary of each other, and I believe that we can work together,” he said. “If confirmed, look forward to working with the chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. [Kenneth] Wilsbach … and the other service chiefs as a member of the Joint Chiefs to make sure that we do that right.”