James Cartwright entered uncharted waters in the summer of 2004 when he took command of U.S. Strategic Command, or Stratcom. That organization, historically focused on the ICBM mission, had seen its portfolio expand significandy in the pre ceding years to include space support, missile defense and cyber warfare. Cartwright's first order of business was to review Stratcom's organization. That exercise led to changes that included shifting some of the operational functions traditionally associated with U.S. Space Command — which had been folded into Stratcom — to other facilities such as Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. But Stratcom retained broad oversight and long-term planning responsibilities for space at its headquarters near Omaha, Neb. And when it comes to that planning, whether for satellite architectures or computer software, Cartwright makes clear he will not be bound by the practices of the past. A former Marine aviator with flight experience in F-4 and F/A-18 combat aircraft, Cartwright spoke recently with Space News editor Lon Rains and staff writer Jeremy Singer.
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