SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: NO NEED TO DUPLICATE NASIC
Mark Esper and Mike Turner talk about protecting the organization as the Space Force gets started.
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday it’s important not to duplicate the work being performed by the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as the nation’s fledgling Space Force is created.
“As we look forward to how we organize Space Force, obviously, we’re not looking for reduplication, and I don’t want to break something that’s working,” Esper told the House Armed Services Committee in testimony.
He added to U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, a member of that committee: “So you and I have talked about this before. I’ll take it back and make sure that works in all of our calculations, make sure we consult with you as things evolve. But they (NASIC personnel) do great work there.”
Esper also told Turner: “I just want to say thank you for hosting me at Wright-Patt, and I did have a great visit to NASIC — they do exceptional work.”
Turner hosted Esper on a visit to Wright-Patterson in October 2019.
In his testimony Wednesday, Esper was responding to a point Turner made about NASIC’s future, asking the secretary to ensure the organization is protected as the Space Force is gradually organized.
Dayton leaders have sought to protect NASIC, which is based at Wright-Patterson and whose employment has risen steadily over the years.
The intelligence center analyzes adversaries’ air, space and cyber threats, such as ballistic missile capabilities, and provides findings to the nation’s political and military leaders. As national leaders have demanded more intelligence, NASIC’s workforce increased by about 1,500 employees, or 100 a year between 2000 to 2015, according to the base.
The defense budget President Trump signed in December approves $182 million for a new home for NASIC. The NASIC expansion has been called the largest single construction project in base history.
Construction on that project is expected to start this year, leaders of the Dayton Development Coalition have said.
Turner last year said it was Esper who advocated the NASIC expansion when the Trump administration announced plans to divert military construction money to fund a border wall between the United States and Mexico.