Vice President Mike Pence spoke earlier this week from the Pentagon on the future of the United States Space Force. The focus going forward will be on expanding our resources and making the necessary changes and developments to address the growing need for space exploration. This begins with the creation of a new branch of the military, the Space Force.
“Now the time has come to write the next great chapter in the history of our armed forces, to prepare for the next battlefield where America’s best and bravest will be called to deter and defeat a new generation of threats to our people and to our nation,” he said. “The time has come to establish the United States Space Force.”
Vice President Pence mentioned three directives that President Donald Trump has signed to “reorient our space program toward human exploration, unleash America’s burgeoning commercial space companies, and safeguard our vital space assets with new space traffic management policy.”
What the Heck is the Space Force?
President Trump has made strengthening America’s military a top priority during his time in office, with increases to defense spending and now the creation of a new branch of the military.
The National Space Council, which was reinstated by President Trump and is chaired by Vice President Pence, is exploring how America can establish and maintain superiority in space.
The Space Force will be a new branch of the military, operating under the same rules of engagement and oversight as the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. In the same way that the Air Force was created as the need for the previously-structured Army Air Corps grew during World War II, the new Space Force will take on the responsibilities currently held by the other branches of the military.
“America and our allies emerged victorious from World War II because of the strength of our armed forces, and because our armed forces adapted to meet the emerging threats of the day,” Pence said.
Why Do We Need to Be in Space?
Vice President Pence highlighted the need for military power in space, saying that the nation “will meet the emerging threats on this new battlefield with American ingenuity and strength to defend our nation, protect our people, and carry the cause of liberty and peace into the next great American frontier.”
As space exploration around the world, and especially in the private, commercial sector grows, so does the need for regulation. Space is both a military domain and a source of resources.
Many of our current warfighting technologies rely on space-based assets, such as communications satellites and guidance systems. As our country and others around the world develop advanced technology, the need for reliable and secure assets in space gets even more important.
Vice President Pence said space is “now crowded and adversarial.” Nations seeking to negatively impact American infrastructure or military power only need to disrupt the space-based systems that we rely on.
In his speech, the Vice President pointed to Russia, China, and North Korea as concrete examples of actions taken in space to impact America’s military might. From “weapons to jam, blind, and disable our navigation and communications satellites via electronic attacks from the ground” to missiles launched solely to destroy other satellites, technology using space is advancing at a rapid pace.
In fact, China created its own version of the Space Force in 2015, according to the Vice President. Other countries around the world are seeing the importance of the space domain and investing resources in its use. With the creation of the Space Force, America will do the same.
How Do I Sign Up?
The majority of the Space Force will likely begin with those already serving in uniform with expertise needed by this new branch of the military.
“Across this Department and our intelligence agency, there are literally tens of thousands of military personnel, civilians, and contractors operating and supporting our space systems, and together they’re the eyes and the ears of America’s warfighters around the globe,” Vice President Pence said. “And they do a remarkable job.”
He specifically referenced the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base and the Missile Defense Agency at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, along with “other bases and facilities across the country where our men and women in uniform work together with our intelligence community and our allies to protect our people, our nation, and our interests around the world.”
Additional resources will be used to facilitate the development of the Space Force and to establish American superiority in space. According to Pence, nearly $1 billion of the defense budget signed earlier this year will go to space defense programs. President Trump is also pushing for an additional $8 billion over the next 5 years to go to space programs.
The time has come to write the next great chapter in the history of our armed forces, to prepare for the next battlefield where America’s best & bravest will be called to deter & defeat a new generation of threats to our nation. The time has come to establish the US #SpaceForce. pic.twitter.com/cKAdxnZzba
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) August 9, 2018
Specific actions being taken include establishing the United States Space Command, led by a four-star flag officer, to “establish unified command and control for our Space Force operations, ensure integration across the military, and develop the space warfighting doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures of the future.” This new command will be shaping the future of the Space Force and making recommendations as to how best to go about creating this new branch of the military in practice.
The creation of a Space Operations Force, similar to the Special Operations Force, will be a joint command with members from all military services with elite skills related to space. Another joint organization, the Space Development Agency, will also be created to bring the needed “cutting-edge warfighting capabilities” to the Space Force.
Finally, the office of an Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space will be established with the intention to create and transition to a Secretary of the Space Force in the future. The civilian in this role will report the the Secretary of Defense as the Space Force is stood up and developed.
If space is indeed the final frontier, America’s military stands ready to go boldly. With the creation of the Space Force, expertise and resources will come together to meet the growing need for a military presence in space.
The United States military has a strong history of innovation and superiority in space, as the Vice President pointed out. “The first American rockets in space were launched by our military,” he said. He continued on to mention our first reconnaissance satellites and the bravery of our first astronauts, pilots from the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, in making America a leader in space exploration.
“And the next generation of Americans to confront the emerging threats in the boundless expanse of space will be wearing the uniform of the United States of America as well,” the Vice President said to applause.
The work is just starting for the Space Force. Creating a new branch of the military is neither an easy nor a quick task. While the mission of managing space-based assets is already being done by other branches of the military, transferring responsibilities to a new branch will take complex coordination. One of the first decisions to be made will be to choose a strong leader to take on this monumental job. America, and the world, will be watching as the Space Force stands up and puts on the uniform of the United States military. Now we all just want to know, just what will those uniforms look like?
