President Donald Trump has directed the Department of Defense to establish a sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, deemed the Space Force, which will be dedicated solely to protecting U.S. interests in outer space.
Despite the controversy from lawmakers and some members of his administration, Trump announced this week during a meeting of the National Space Council that he has decided the Pentagon to move forward with plans he mentioned in a speech earlier this year.
“I am hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a space force as the sixth branch of the armed forces,” he said. “It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space, we must have American dominance in space. We are going to have the Air Force and we are going to have the space force, separate but equal, it is going to be something.”
Trump first mentioned the idea space force almost jokingly as part of his national security strategy last March, saying “space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air, and sea…we have the Air Force, we’ll have the space force.”
Last June, the House Armed Services Committee proposed that the space corps be established, in the National Defense Authorization Act, as the sixth branch of the U.S. military that would be commanded by the Air Force. The relationship of these two branches would be much like the existing relationship the Marine Corps has with the Navy. The space corps would control the vast expanse existing outside of the Earth’s atmosphere. The proposal was disapproved at that time by the White House, the Air Force, and Secretary of Defense James Mattis.
“I oppose the creation of a new military service and additional organizational layers at a time when we are focused on reducing overhead and integrating joint warfighting efforts,” Mattis wrote in a letter to the House and Senate armed services committees.
The legislation for the space corps did pass the House vote, but was not included in November’s final defense authorization bill. The request for an independent study on the subject was made and is due in August, with a more extensive report including a solid plan being due by the end of the year.
Currently, the idea has now come to fruition and will be headed by General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “General Dunford, if you would carry that assignment out, I would be very greatly honored,” Trump said from the podium to the General during his recent speech.
Mr. Trump announced his plans to protect American interests in space during his speech at the meeting of the National Space Council and indicated that the monitoring of commercial traffic and debris would be “great not only in terms of jobs and everything else, it’s great for the psyche of our country.”
According to Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White, “Our Policy Board will begin working on this issue, which has implications for intelligence operations for the Air Force, Army, Marines, and Navy. Working with Congress, this will be a deliberate process with a great deal of input from multiple stakeholders.”
Hurdles are expected for the creation of the new branch of the military, though, as congressional authorization and approval are required to move forward. Senate Commerce Committee member Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) indicated that the president’s order to create the new branch lacked the support of the necessary generals required for the program.
“Thankfully, the president can’t do it without Congress because now is NOT the time to rip the Air Force apart,” Nelson posted on his social media account. “Too many important missions at stake.”
President Trump, however, feels it is important to form this additional branch of the U.S. military and stands firm in his belief.
“Our destiny beyond the Earth is not only a matter of national identity but a matter of national security,” the president said.
~ Conservative Zone
I dont know about this one now, i have always found space interesting, the last frontier as star trek called it. I thought the shuttle was great the first time it flew, but even NASA said at that time they needed a cheaper way to launch it. They never did, and a heck of a cost to just keep orbiting earth. This will add a huge cost and addition to our 21 trillion dollar debt
It is nice to finally have a POTUS who cares about the people and loves his country. All of them since JFK have been idiots. The biggest one being the illegal president obama!
The USA FOR THE FIRST TIME HAVE IDIOT AMERICANS UNKNOWLEDGEABLED ELECTED AN ILLEGAL, NON-CITIZEN BORN KENYAN FOR US PRESIDEN & SET-UP, INSTALLED IN THE WHITE HOUSE BY THE TOP BOSS POLITICAL CRIMINAL MAFIAS’ VERSION SYDICATE KILLER HILLARY CLINTON & ALL HER MILLIONAIRES BRIBED CRONIES IN FBI, CIA & DOJ. FOR TH FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE US, A MASSIVE GROUP OF CRIMINAL MAFIA VERSION OF CRIMINAL SYNDICATES HAVE TAINTED & PLAGUED THE US GOVERNMENT OF THE US NOT UNTIL DEMOCRATS BILL CLINTON & HILLARY CLINTON BIG TIME DRUG DEALERS, SHIPMENTS IN THE US SINCE BILL CLINTON ARKANSAS’ GOVERNOR & CONTINUED AT THE WHITE HOUSE US PRESIDENCY IN 1980’S W/ ALL CA HOLLYWOOD ELITES & CELEBRETIES OF SUPPLYING DRUGS & PARTIES IN THE WHITE HOUSE. MORE THAN 50 % OF PEOPLE LIVING IN THE US ARE ANTI-AMERICANS & WANTS US AS LAND OF ILLEGAL, UNDOCUMENTED & ROAMING THE COUNTRY HARMING, KILLING THE TRUE CITIZEN AMERICANS, STEALING,ROBBING OUR COUNTRYS’ NATURAL RESOURCES, HARDWORKING TAX-PAYERS’ MONEY, ILLEGALS ALIEN CHILDREN ROBS TAX-PAYERS EDUCATION FUNDS INTENDED FOR AMERICAN NATIONALS.
WHAT BECOME OF US UNDER ILLEGAL & UNDOCUMENTED CRIMINAL ALIENS & POLITICAL CRIMINAL SYNDICATES US GOVERNMENT WOULD BE LIKE IN THE COMING YEARS IF PRESENT TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WOULD NOT MAKE DRASTIC, URGENT, EMERGENCY MOVEMENT OF GOVERNMENT-MILITARY ALLIANCE FORCES TO CHANGE THIS: 3RD-WORLD LIKE POLITICAL SYSTEM & VIOLENT ANTIC-AMERICAN SENTIMENTS CIVIL SITUATION TO PATRIOTIC NORMALCY IN OUR USA LAND??
Who knows? The world never had a space force before. Or did it? Perhaps Russia or China. It’s something we have to keep an open mind about. However, once it’s established, it will be a bureaucracy with a life of its own. It will need watchdogs and whistle blowers to keep it in line.
Starting more wars is not the way to peace. If you give the military a new weapon, they surely will find some excuse to use it.
John Hasse: Who said anything about “starting more wars”?? We need to have a strong defense at all of our borders, including space. Only persons who thought it was a good idea for us to be unprepared on December 7, 1941 would agree that having a good defense and readiness would start wars.
I think Mr. Trump is right. We don’t know what some other nations are doing and we need to keep on top.
Dona
The Air Force, as we know it today, began as an operational division of the Army. If there is not sufficient support in Congress for the creation of a separate Space Force, then just go forward with those objectives under Air Force administration. When the time is right for administrative separation, the technology and infrastructure will already be in place.
Most of the technical achievements have their beginnings in space tech. So while expensive to create new tech, the spin offs will more than pay for the investment dollars. Everything is more expensive for the first item. After that further improvements bring down costs and reliability of the products. the increasing levels of hostility of other by other country’s have made it necessary to maintain a superior tech dominance and more specialized military to offset the threats to our country. like it or not space is the high ground we have to hold to protect our country. also it will be necessary to have some way to create tech to protect us from large space rocks. Most of the environment damaging industry could be eventually moved to spaced based factory’s and mining
“Star Wars” worked for President Reagan, and this Space Force concept is a good one. There is so much going on in space by other nations about which we are ignorant. Perhaps this branch of the military could help us with our vulnerability to EMP’s.
HE is mentally the world’s SPACE CADET so THAT is where he is. He doesn’t have a mind and there is space where is suppose to be a brain, and IT is located in the rear posterior of his body.
Cycil Byas (or, is it “Bias”) Only ignorant people whose knowledge of matters outside of their own residence is a mystery to them would comment in such a childish and stupid fashion. Please read, do some research and learn something before you make your opinion known. You won’t embarrass yourself so much.
To cycil baas@Briar mental hospital: The world’s biggest space cadet is the best POTUS we’ve had since FDR. He’s done more in slightly over 500 days than any other. I could type a list of them, but I doubt you have enough focus to read them. You sound like a hussein/clinton backer and would be surprise if you didn’t believe he was just a great president when in fact he wasted eight years and gave in to the mullahs, kissed middle east -ern arabs rings, bowed to the chinese and was weaker even than jimmy carter. And remember, your meds are to be taken orally not anally.