The U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command in Colorado Springs has promoted its top operations planner to brigadier general.
Jeffrey Horne received his promotion Friday, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.
Horne also oversees the addition of six-soldier space warfare teams to every Army division. His wife and one of his daughters, Air Force 2nd Lt. Jennifer Logan, pinned on his new rank insignia during a ceremony at Peterson Air Force Base, the Gazette said.
With about 2,000 soldiers stationed around the world, the Army’s space command is significantly smaller than its Air Force counterpart at Peterson. But the command carries great responsibilities.
Horne has received widespread praise for his success in maintaining cooperation and coordination between the Army and the Air Force, which have been notorious rivals for decades in defending their own cherished turf in Ballistic Missile Defense programs. His promotion is said to reflect that record.
A large part of the missile defense operation and other Army space functions are housed at Peterson and Schriever Air Force Base. The Army space command also has teams of soldiers in Iraq to help commanders better use satellite communications, navigation and intelligence, the Gazette said.
Horne said soldiers from the Colorado Springs command left for South Korea last week to practice the use of satellite technology during a war game.
He also predicted that Army Space and Missile Defense Command would not seek to expand its headquarters staff at Colorado Springs even though the number and scale of missions it was tasked with were growing at a rapid pace.
“Gaining capabilities doesn’t always mean getting a bigger footprint,” Horne said.
