This book would not have been possible without a host of individuals and groups who contributed immeasurably to my education. First, I am immensely grateful to the faculty and library staff at Air University, Air Command and Staff College for their tremendous advice, interpretations, and sound wisdom concerning this work. Major Brent Ziarnick, USAFR, was essential to this work’s completion by providing solid feedback and lending me his extensive space knowledge, especially regarding space’s influence on economics. Colonel M.V. “Coyote” Smith, USAF (ret.), was always willing to listen and to help refine my broader thoughts on space and its applicability to international relations. USAF Lieutenant Colonel Pete Garrison’s healthy obsession with space attack provided excellent inspiration for this work’s writing on space dominance and planetary invasion. Major Sam Kriegler, U.S. Army, offered me his superb insight and useful sanity checks for the manuscript, not to mention a critical eye from a sister service with comparatively little space responsibilities. Finally, the United States Air Force must be thanked, not only for giving me the opportunity to meet these tremendous scholars and warriors, but for the various opportunities I have been given which have made me a better officer and thinker, and ultimately led to this work.
I must also thank the legions of friends and colleagues who encouraged me along the way to continue writing, despite the awkwardness which always comes with writing about a subject with which one is not at first completely familiar. As a combat pilot, writing about space was intimidating both because there is so much to learn about the subject, and because I know there are multitudes of space professionals ready and willing to pounce on my conclusions and make short work of them. Nevertheless, I owe them my gratitude as well, not only for their critical eye but also for their willingness to stand up and fight for the right mix of military strategy, policy, and technology to meet the nation’s imminent space challenges.
Lastly, I have profound gratitude for my family. They can never be adequately repaid for the time and inspiration they have given me. I was able to complete this work only through their encouragement and support.
I have done my best to represent space, military strategy, and all that comes with it as accurately and honestly as I could, but no doubt there will be misrepresentations and mistakes found in this work with such a contentious topic. All errors or misinterpretations in this volume are mine.