Space Force: Pence details plans for creation of 6th military branch

“The Space Force is the next and natural evolution of American military strength”.

“There is a threat out there but it’s being handled by the US Air Force today”, he said during an MSNBC interview, according to Reuters.

Critics note that the creation of a new military branch would require congressional legislation, and that it would probably balloon the Department of Defense’s already massive budget.

In a letter to Pence, he said he did ‘not wish to add a separate service that would likely present a narrower and even parochial approach to space operations, ‘ adding it would create extra bureaucracy and cost.

Shortly after Pence’s speech, Trump’s Make America Great Again Committee emailed campaign supporters with a list of logo options for the Space Force, saying something about releasing a “new line of gear” once it’s selected.

Over on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, the host discovered that there already was a “space force” in the form of a 1970s TV movie starring Fred Willard. This division will come under the ambit of the Space Force.

A much anticipated Pentagon report on the reorganization of the space components of the Defense Department was scheduled to be submitted to Congress on August 1 but was more than a week late, according to a spokesman, to allow more time for additional coordination.

White House officials have been working with national security leaders to aggressively move ahead without Congress.

The US has outlined plans to “prepare for the next battlefield” by creating a new “Space Force” to counter the threat of China and Russian Federation.

“Longtime viewers of the Trump administration will remember that Space Force is the president’s boldest idea that he got from a Buzz Lightyear Happy Meal toy”, Colbert joked.

“This idea seems to have come from one person who is not a space of military expert”. Criticism of a space branch levied by Defense Secretary James Mattis and others in the past have all been regarding the administrative and logistical expenses associated with the establishment of any new branch, not with its intended responsibilities.

Democratic senator Brian Schatz, who is on the Defence Appropriations subcommittee, said the Space Force was a “dumb idea”.

Donald Trump’s Space Force programme has only just been announced but already it has been lampooned.

The Pentagon’s role in space has been under scrutiny because of a recognition that the United States is increasingly reliant on satellites that are hard to protect in space.

One of the proposed logos (top right) looks like NASA’s logo, except with a red background and the phrase “SPACE FORCE” instead of “NASA”.

The US now has 157 military satellites, outnumbering China’s 57 and Russia’s 83.

“Ultimately, Congress must act to establish this new department, which will organize, train and equip the United States Space Force”, Pence said.

Yesterday the Trump campaign (which is still in operation, and taking in money) revealed a set of Space Force logos. Wilson was travelling on business and not at the Pentagon when Pence made his announcement.

The Pentagon report, however, recommended that the unified command be in the hands of the Air Force for now.

Pence has argued that this change meant that the appropriate response is a new branch of the military, but his view of history here was a bit odd.

“He’s the commander in chief”, Selva said of the president.