Three Star AF General "retires" after space lecture

Wow...this cat was my commander as A ltc in Lakenheath back in the day...he was a fast tracker and made it to Lt General until he gave a speech about new tech that could transform humanity in the way that fire did. This guy was guaranteed to make 4 star and possibly joint chiefs but damn...retired!

He musta ruffled some big time feathers and it makes me wonder what tech is out there....warp travel, a new type.of energy source?

Damn I wish i knew what he does...

www.thedrive.com...


thehill.com...

a reply to: lakenheath24

He was pushed into retirement because he spoke out after being told not to. At that level, it's a guarantee of retirement at the least.

There's a lot of wiggle room in there. On the engineering benches doesn't mean it's readily available, or even works for that matter.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: lakenheath24

He was pushed into retirement because he spoke out after being told not to. At that level, it's a guarantee of retirement at the least.

There's a lot of wiggle room in there. On the engineering benches doesn't mean it's readily available, or even works for that matter.

and you know he was pushed out how?... the above source "the hill" said this was an opinion piece on 5G and china's involvement.

a reply to: jimmyx

Because there's more than one source that talks about it. The SecAF at the time was against Space Force being split off, which is on the record. He made comments in support of Space Force, which is on the record. There are multiple people saying that they were told not to speak out in support of Space Force no matter what their personal feelings were, which can be found in several articles.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: lakenheath24

He was pushed into retirement because he spoke out after being told not to. At that level, it's a guarantee of retirement at the least.

There's a lot of wiggle room in there. On the engineering benches doesn't mean it's readily available, or even works for that matter.

I would imagine that his public support for the creation of a Space Force as an agency independent from the Air Force is pretty much what did him in. The Air Force fought that idea with a purple passion. And they lost. I'm sure this general is now regarded as a traitor to his service.

I suspect that the revolutionary technology that he is referring to is Elon's Big, Funfilled Rocket (BFR). When it is developed it will allow getting 330,000 tons to low earth orbit in a single launch. Because it will be entirely reusable, and can fly pretty much every week, it will allow many different military and national security payloads that are not possible today. Super large apertures for both surveillance and laser battle stations. The ability to put an entire fleet of hundreds of small satellites in place at one time. Rods from God. The USMC will finally get their "Starship Trooper" capability to put a Marine Squadron anywhere on the planet within an hour. Etc., etc.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: jimmyx

Because there's more than one source that talks about it. The SecAF at the time was against Space Force being split off, which is on the record. He made comments in support of Space Force, which is on the record. There are multiple people saying that they were told not to speak out in support of Space Force no matter what their personal feelings were, which can be found in several articles.

I thought it was Navy who got the Space Force?

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: jimmyx

Because there's more than one source that talks about it. The SecAF at the time was against Space Force being split off, which is on the record. He made comments in support of Space Force, which is on the record. There are multiple people saying that they were told not to speak out in support of Space Force no matter what their personal feelings were, which can be found in several articles.

I thought it was Navy who got the Space Force?

You thought wrong. Air Force gets it.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: jimmyx

Because there's more than one source that talks about it. The SecAF at the time was against Space Force being split off, which is on the record. He made comments in support of Space Force, which is on the record. There are multiple people saying that they were told not to speak out in support of Space Force no matter what their personal feelings were, which can be found in several articles.

c'mon zap...they said a "gag order" was put on this type of information, and he violated that order...there might be some critical technical information they didn't want released...the military has done this for a long time...and he formally retired on Sept. 1st this year, so he wasn't punished for it, as far as I see...at that level of command you need to keep "tight lips"....there have been several things over the years that YOU have refused to discuss as far as the military, so you know the drill. that's all i'm saying.

a reply to: 1947boomer

Going against a Secretary like he did usually doesn't end well for the lower ranked person.

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: jimmyx

Because there's more than one source that talks about it. The SecAF at the time was against Space Force being split off, which is on the record. He made comments in support of Space Force, which is on the record. There are multiple people saying that they were told not to speak out in support of Space Force no matter what their personal feelings were, which can be found in several articles.

I thought it was Navy who got the Space Force?

You thought wrong. Air Force gets it.

Yeah, I was confusing it with Space Command.

Totally different.

Also, what happened to the treaties?

Space law
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

a reply to: jimmyx

And every other source talking about it, including the first linked source in the OP talks about his Space Force comments being the cause. Do you really think that if the head of the Air Force says not to talk about something, and you very publicly talk about it to anyone that will listen, they're just going to turn a blind eye? That he's just going to be allowed to walk away and continue his career? Hell no. He's going to be congratulated on a long and successful career, and given a separation date to retire. He embarrassed the SecAF. Once he was told he was retiring, what did he have to lose talking about 5G.

a reply to: lakenheath24
From the link:

This technology can be built today with technology that is not developmental to deliver any human being from any place on planet Earth to any other place in less than an hour.

www.thedrive.com...

That sounds like what Elon Musk was talking about with his passenger rockets a couple of years back.

Musk presented a video at this year’s IAC in Adelaide, Australia, detailing how the company’s next-generation rocket could take passengers anywhere on Earth in less than an hour, with most places reachable in just 25 minutes to a half-hour.

www.inverse.com...

So was he kicked out for wanting the space force to be a seperate entity,because the AF may get less funding if that happens?
Is that why the AF were told not to show support for a seperate space force?
I'm not sure I have that right..

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

More or less, yes. He didn't just speak out after being told not to though, he was making connections, setting up a committee, and actively preparing and lobbying for Space Force to become a reality.

He is lecturing AFTER his retirement.

a reply to: chr0naut

Not sure China cares.
www.thedrive.com...

Over the years, there have been a wide range of proposed concepts in this vein that differ primarily in how capable the combination of mothership and spacecraft is and, as a result, how big a payload the second vehicle can carry into space and what types of orbit it can achieve. The War Zone has been closely following these developments. 

China wants space superiority. Kwast concern is once China moves forward with their "Space Navy" in a few short years. They will decide who's satellite stays or goes, perhaps charge a fee.

Clearly not talking about 5G. I think the General is talking about zero point energy, or Vacuum energy from space.

a reply to: chr0naut

The treaties only prohibit WMDs in orbit. They say nothing about other weapons types.

originally posted by: Silcone Synapse
a reply to: lakenheath24
From the link:

This technology can be built today with technology that is not developmental to deliver any human being from any place on planet Earth to any other place in less than an hour.

www.thedrive.com...

That sounds like what Elon Musk was talking about with his passenger rockets a couple of years back.

Musk presented a video at this year’s IAC in Adelaide, Australia, detailing how the company’s next-generation rocket could take passengers anywhere on Earth in less than an hour, with most places reachable in just 25 minutes to a half-hour.

www.inverse.com...

So was he kicked out for wanting the space force to be a seperate entity,because the AF may get less funding if that happens?
Is that why the AF were told not to show support for a seperate space force?
I'm not sure I have that right..

Could be talking about the tic-tacs.

a reply to: chr0naut

I hate to be the obvious jerk, but nobody pays any attention to 'treaties' or 'law' anymore.

It sucks. But … that is OUR world these days.

Well... at least we know now, we can get to any place around the world in less than an hour.... also bet they are using some type of device that drags across space for unlimited power supply.