Trump directs creation of 'space force' as sixth branch of military

[McG]

You MUST have Space Marines for Space Force.

That goes without saying.

 

[a_majoor]

Sorry to splash some reality on your fun, but Marines are actually a great model for the Space Force.

The USMC already operates across three domains (land, sea and air), has managed to integrate forces across these domains and is certainly small and flexible enough to think pretty far out of the box (dive bombing was pioneered by the USMC in the 1920 "Banana Wars", for example, and the SUSTAIN proposal to rocket squads of Marines into action using actual rockets and special reentry spacecraft is about as far out of the box as anyone has seriously proposed...).

While garrisons of Marines in orbit or on the Moon are not likely in the near future, I do suspect we wlll see a lot of the USMC migrating towards the Space Force as time progresses.

 

[MarkOttawa]

Conclusion on a piece by a prof. who knows military stuff (written a book, Grounded, advocating abolition of USAF! http://www.cips-cepi.ca/2014/06/24/wherefore-the-air-force-a-review-of-robert-farleys-grounded/):

Is It Time for a Space Force?
By Robert Farley [https://www.uky.edu/pattersonschool/people/faculty/dr-robert-farley]
...
There are substantial downsides and few clear upsides to the creation of an independent space force. A Space Force could capture some gains to specialization reflected in the development of offensive and defensive weapons designed to protect U.S. space-based assets, or threaten the space-based assets of potential foes. The creation of a Space Force could also ensure that space receives sufficient bureaucratic attention, and that it does not need to compete within an organization against other priorities.

But it is not obvious that the existing services have allowed space to lay fallow, or that there are substantial unexplored gains in the area of offensive or defensive space weaponry. Other solutions, including the creation of a combatant command dedicated to space (which would include personnel and priorities from the existing services, rather than residing in the Air Force), or the creation of a Space Corps within the Air Force (similar organizationally to the U.S. Marine Corps) could potentially resolve the problems that a Space Force is supposed to solve, without creating a complex new bureaucratic hierarchy. To this point, the Trump administration has not offered a compelling logic for why the problem of fighting in space requires such a drastic organizational solution.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/it-time-space-force

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Spencer100]

You can get the T-shirt now

https://www.amazon.com/Space-Force-T-Shirt-USA-Shirt/dp/B07FGHM4WH/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1534077959&sr=1-5&nodeID=7141123011&psd=1&keywords=space+force+t-shirt&linkCode=sl1&tag=insta0c-20&linkId=ca77c8c615516d5f5e213b0a6d085d22&language=en_US

 

[a_majoor]

Military assets in space are nothing new, Salyut 3 was a manned reconnaissance platform armed with a 23mm cannon adapted from an aircraft cannon, and several nations have tested anti satellite weapons. The Russians are now apparently testing some sort of manoeuvrable satellite system (possibly comparable to the US X-37?), which may be an ASAT weapon. Orbital "fighters" are not going be like "X-Wings" any time soon....

https://abcnews.go.com/International/us-concerned-russian-satellites-abnormal-behavior/story?id=57206620

US concerned by Russian satellite's 'very abnormal behavior'
By Conor Finnegan [/b] Aug 15, 2018, 8:26 PM ET

When Vice President Mike Pence laid out the Trump administration's plan to establish a Space Force as a new branch of the military last Thursday, critics said it was a wasteful and unnecessary step that added bureaucracy for something that didn't present a threat.

But now the U.S. is voicing concerns and claiming that threat is very real -- pointing in particular to a Russian satellite's "very abnormal behavior."

The satellite, launched in October 2017, has displayed behavior "inconsistent with anything seen before from" the kind of satellite Russia has said it is, according to Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance Yleem D.S. Poblete.

Instead, without saying it outright, Poblete implied that the object could be a weapon, but said the U.S. cannot know for sure.

"We don't know for certain what it is, and there is no way to verify it," Poblete said yesterday in Geneva, Switzerland, at the Conference on Disarmament. Poblete was speaking before the international body for negotiating arms control to express the U.S.'s "serious concerns" about Russia's push to launch weapons in space, especially anti-satellite weapons that can target satellites that the U.S. relies on for business, scientific and military purposes.

Poblete cited recent comments from several top Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, about the development of weapons in space and Putin unveiling a mobile laser system in March that could shoot down satellites.

"The Russian pursuit of counterspace capabilities is consistent with these other activities and is disturbing given the recent pattern of Russian malign behavior," she said.

Russia has denied the satellite is a weapon, with a senior Russian diplomat in Geneva telling Reuters these were "the same unfounded, slanderous accusations based on suspicions, on suppositions and so on." Instead, the diplomat called on the US to make a "constructive contribution" to improve a treaty backed by Russia and China to ban weapons in space.

That document -- the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, or PPWT -- has been opposed by the U.S. for years, with the Obama administration calling it "fundamentally flawed" in 2014. The U.S. says it allows for too many loopholes and too few inspections that it gives cover to countries like Russia and China to do the very thing it is trying to prevent, weaponize space.

Poblete went further, saying international weapons inspections are virtually impossible in space, leaving only the chance to observe the behavior of another country's satellites. But because "we have no means of differentiating many objects’ behaviors from that of a weapon," Poblete said, "Outer space arms control is unverifiable."

The top U.S. diplomat for arms control also warned that Russia "has routinely violated its international commitments" on arms control and cannot be trusted.

As Pence and Defense Secretary James Mattis announced last week, the Trump administration plans to establish a U.S. Space Command, a new combatant command focused on space as a war-fighting domain and led by a four-star general. Currently, a three-star Space Command falls under the Air Force, headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado and responsible for 30,000 personnel worldwide.

Congress, however, would need to approve the creation of a new military branch, and the administration says it will submit that as part of its 2020 budget request.

While Poblete only went after Russia on Tuesday, Pence during his speech pointed not only to Russia's development of that mobile laser system, but also to China's successful demonstration of how a missile can track and destroy satellites.

"Both China and Russia have been conducting highly sophisticated 'on-orbit' activities that could enable them to maneuver their satellites into close proximity with ours, posing unprecedented new dangers to our space systems," the vice president said. "Both nations are also investing heavily in hypersonic missiles that are designed to fly up to 5 miles per second and at such low altitudes that they could evade detection by our missile-defense radars. In fact, China claimed to have made its first successful test of a hypersonic vehicle just last week."

Pence added that the U.S. "will always seek peace, in space as on earth."

 

[OldSolduer]

That’s cool. When are we getting a Death Star?

 

[cavalryman]

That’s cool. When are we getting a Death Star?

Depends on whether Irving or Davies gets the contract.  ;D

 

[OldSolduer]

Depends on whether Irving or Davies gets the contract.  ;D

Then it will be underpowered and under weaponized. And no air conditioning until it is deployed on operations to rule the galaxy!!!!

 

[MarkOttawa]

Pentagon's developing Space Force planning (note NRO not included for now):

Here’s The Pentagon’s Initial Plan For Creating a Space Force

Parts of the Air Force, Navy and Army would move into a sixth branch, but the NRO will likely remain independent.

The U.S. Space Force will include uniformed service members drawn from the Air Force, Navy and Army — but it is not expected to include the National Reconnaissance Office mission, according an internal draft of the Pentagon’s plan to create a sixth branch of the military.

Defense One reviewed a copy of the 13-page document, which will be further developed in coming months before the Pentagon sends it to Congress in February along with its 2020 budget request. This early draft provides a glimpse into a 21st-century approach to creating a new service branch, an endeavor not undertaken since 1947. Among other things, it reveals divergent views among senior Pentagon officials about how to structure it.

For example, the document says the Space Force will not “include the transfer of [the] strategic intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance mission of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). But the Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office will be integrated through …NOTE FURTHER INPUT HERE LATER REGARDING DOD/IC integration.” Note that in a Sept. 14 memo to Secretary Patrick Shanahan, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson Deputy Defense recommended including NRO in the Space Force.

The draft document calls for Space Force to absorb parts of Air Force Space Command, the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, the Naval Satellite Operations Center, and the Army’s 1st Space Brigade [emphasis added].

The document says the installations and facilities where those units are based will remain part of their respective services until the Space Force “reaches an appropriate operating capacity.” There are six Air Force Space Command bases: three in Colorado, two in California and one in Florida.  The Army’s 1st Space Brigade is based in Colorado. The Navy’s San Diego-based SPAWAR has facilities around the world. The Naval Satellite Operations Center is at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California.

The existing military services would still “retain organic space capabilities uniquely designated to support that Service’s or organization’s mission,” the document says. “Additionally, each Service may retain a cadre of space experts that serve as liaisons to advocate for and potentially operate space-related capabilities unique to its respective domain.”

Among the Space Force’s missions: space situational advantage; battle management command and control of space forces; space lift and range operations; space support to nuclear command and control; missile warning; satellite communications and position, navigation and timing [emphasis added].

“The Space Force will only be responsible for those missions directly associated with joint space operations,” the document says.

Missions that “that are tangentially associated with space” — including nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles, cyber operations and “the overall missile defense missions” — will not be part of the Space Force, at least initially [emphasis added].

“Inclusion of these missions into the Space Force may be reevaluated in the future, as necessary,” the document states.

Pentagon officials have stressed their desire not to add layers of bureaucracy. Wilson, in September, said an additional 13,000 people would be needed. The draft Space Force proposal mentions a “lean headquarters model,” but does not list any numbers.

However, the plan says that the new branch would have a secretary and chief of staff, who would be a member of the Joint Chiefs. It also talks of creating a Space National Guard and Space Force Reserve [emphasis added].

The plan talks of creating a “pilot program” to enable the Space Force “to acquire talent from the civilian market in a rapid manner for a defined period after which the individual would return to civilian life.”

The draft does not including funding estimates, but has placeholders for a budget proposal and a “Defense Space Strategy.” Wilson, in her proposal, said it would likely cost taxpayers an additional $13 billion over five years to create the Space Force. Defense budget analyst Todd Harrison, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, called her take “the highest estimate I think you could possibly come up with.”

Earlier this month, Shanahan said Pentagon officials would be figuring out the Space Force budget in October and November.
https://www.defenseone.com/politics/2018/10/heres-pentagons-initial-plan-creating-space-force/152203/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[JesseWZ]

We're going to see a Space Force Comedy Series before we see a Space Force...

I really enjoyed The Office, so I may watch. I *hope* it stays grounded to lampooning aspects of military life (in space?) and stays away from politics as another venue to poke the US president in the eye.

 

[FJAG]

President Trump to sign directive approving scaled-back Space Force

President Donald Trump is set to sign a new directive Tuesday aimed at formally establishing a new space-focused military branch that will begin as an extension of the U.S. Air Force, yet another step toward making the “Space Force” a reality.
.l . .

See rest of article here: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trump-sign-directive-approving-scaled-back-space/story?id=61162957&cid=clicksource_4380645_1_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed

If true, this makes a lot more sense then the original proposal.

Hopefully the budget won't get purloined to build the wall.

:cheers:

 

[The Bread Guy]

More straight from the White House (source):

... Sec. 3. Legislative Proposal and Purpose. The Secretary of Defense shall submit a legislative proposal to the President through the Office of Management and Budget that would establish the United States Space Force as a new armed service within the Department of the Air Force.

The legislative proposal would, if enacted, establish the United States Space Force to organize, train, and equip forces to provide for freedom of operation in, from, and to the space domain; to provide independent military options for national leadership; and to enhance the lethality and effectiveness of the Joint Force. The United States Space Force should include both combat and combat support functions to enable prompt and sustained offensive and defensive space operations, and joint operations in all domains. The United States Space Force shall be organized, trained, and equipped to meet the following priorities:

(a) Protecting the Nation's interests in space and the peaceful use of space for all responsible actors, consistent with applicable law, including international law;

(b) Ensuring unfettered use of space for United States national security purposes, the United States economy, and United States persons, partners, and allies;

(c) Deterring aggression and defending the Nation,
United States allies, and United States interests from hostile acts in and from space;

(d) Ensuring that needed space capabilities are integrated and available to all United States Combatant Commands;

(e) Projecting military power in, from, and to space in support of our Nation's interests; and

(f) Developing, maintaining, and improving a community of professionals focused on the national security demands of the space domain.


Sec. 4. Scope. (a) The legislative proposal required by section 3 of this memorandum shall, in addition to the provisions required under section 3 of this memorandum, include provisions that would, if enacted:

(i) consolidate existing forces and authorities for military space activities, as appropriate, in order to minimize duplication of effort and eliminate bureaucratic inefficiencies; and

(ii) not include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Reconnaissance Office, or other non-military space organizations or missions of the United States Government.

(b) The proposed United States Space Force should:

(i) include, as determined by the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments, the uniformed and civilian personnel conducting and directly supporting space operations from all Department of Defense Armed Forces;

(ii) assume responsibilities for all major military space acquisition programs; and

(iii) create the appropriate career tracks for military and civilian space personnel across all relevant specialties, including operations, intelligence, engineering, science, acquisition, and cyber ...

More on link or in PDF version below.

 

[tomahawk6]

There should be a Naval component. Cant let the Enterprise be operated by the Air Force. 

 

[FJAG]

There should be a Naval component. Cant let the Enterprise be operated by the Air Force. 

Absolutely! I'm quite sure that the Air Force doesn't use terms such as "Engage!" or "Make it so, Number One!" . . . But they should.

;D

 

[dimsum]

Absolutely! I'm quite sure that the Air Force doesn't use terms such as "Engage!" or "Make it so, Number One!" . . . But they should.

;D

Yeah..."weapon away" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

 

[FJAG]

Yeah..."weapon away" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Or something silly like "Fox 2"

;D

 

[daftandbarmy]

Yeah..."weapon away" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Unless it's during a Friday night at the disco....

 

[tomahawk6]

According to the article SF would be around 15000 with an unspecified number of civvies.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/03/05/space-force-would-be-by-far-the-smallest-military-service/

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s proposed Space Force, which faces an uncertain fate in Congress, would be the smallest military service — by far.
Details of the Pentagon’s proposal released Friday show the new service would have about 15,000 personnel, including an unspecified number of civilians, but would begin in 2020 as only a headquarters of about 200. The proposal was submitted Wednesday to Congress, which must authorize the new service.
Space Force would be the first new military service since an independent Air Force was established in 1947 as part of a broad reorganization of the government's military and intelligence agencies.
Space Force would reside within the Department of the Air Force, similar to how the Marine Corps exists within the Department of the Navy. It would have its own chief of staff, a four-star general who would answer to the secretary of the Air Force, currently Heather Wilson.

 

[daftandbarmy]

According to the article SF would be around 15000 with an unspecified number of civvies.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/03/05/space-force-would-be-by-far-the-smallest-military-service/

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s proposed Space Force, which faces an uncertain fate in Congress, would be the smallest military service — by far.
Details of the Pentagon’s proposal released Friday show the new service would have about 15,000 personnel, including an unspecified number of civilians, but would begin in 2020 as only a headquarters of about 200. The proposal was submitted Wednesday to Congress, which must authorize the new service.
Space Force would be the first new military service since an independent Air Force was established in 1947 as part of a broad reorganization of the government's military and intelligence agencies.
Space Force would reside within the Department of the Air Force, similar to how the Marine Corps exists within the Department of the Navy. It would have its own chief of staff, a four-star general who would answer to the secretary of the Air Force, currently Heather Wilson.

So, just like the other 'SF' then?  ;D

 

[Lumber]

I'm really just excited to see their logo.