NATIONAL SECURITY INSIGHTS FOR  SPACE PROFESSIONALS

Today's briefing

• DoD transition meetings resume after holiday break
• Space Force small launch program looks to pick up pace

With just over two weeks left until the Inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, transition activities are picking up at the Pentagon. 

After a two-week holiday break, the Pentagon on Monday resumed meetings with members of the Biden-Harris transition team, a DoD spokesperson said. About 30 interviews have been scheduled this week.

One of the meetings will be with the newly created office of the assistant secretary of defense for space policy. DoD established that office Oct. 29, with Justin Johnson temporarily performing the duties of assistant secretary. Whoever is nominated for that position by the Biden administration will have to be confirmed by the Senate. 

Most of the interviews are being done virtually due to the pandemic. The Pentagon allocated office space for in-person meetings and designated secure facilities where Biden officials can review classified information. 

Transition meetings this week, according to DoD, include the office of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, the acting undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security, and the Strategic Capabilities Office. Other planned interviews are with four-star combatant commanders who oversee military operations around the world. 

The transition for all government agencies got off to a late start as the Trump administration did not officially acknowledge Biden's win until Nov. 23. That's when the General Services Administration informed Biden that the Trump administration was ready to begin the formal transition process.  DoD says the following transition activities have been completed since Nov. 23:

• 168 interviews with over 400 DoD officials
• 194 requests for information fulfilled
• 6,000 pages of non-public and classified information provided

Meanwhile, all 10 living former secretaries of defense, in a Washington Post op-ed on Sunday, urged the Pentagon to cooperate with the Biden transition. 

The secretaries, who served Democratic and Republican presidents, condemned any potential attempt by President Trump to involve the U.S. military in election disputes. The former defense chiefs said this would take the country into "dangerous" territory.