Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Alabama), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces subcommittee, has said he plans to lead a reorganization effort that aims to change the way the U.S. government oversees and field space capabilities, Defense News reported Wednesday.
The space reorganization “will be very disruptive and that will make some people unhappy because they don’t like change,†Rogers told Defense News reporters Joe Gould and Valerie Insinna in an interview.
Rogers said the reorganization seeks to keep pace with potential adversaries, deter threats, consider the role of space in communications and commerce and facilitate the acquisition process for space platforms.
“We’ve got to figure out how to make the acquisition process more nimble and rapid and get the capabilities in space we need,†he said.
Rogers told the publication that he has begun talks with Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tennessee) and industry experts about the Government Accountability Office’s recommendations for space management in a 2015 report.
GAO said the creation of a defense space department led by a civilian chief and equipped with its own budget could potentially lead to a “short-term disruption†to Pentagon’s organizational structure, responsibilities and roles, Defense News added.
