Trumps Orders Pentagon to Create US ‘Space Force’ as Sixth Military Branch
US President Donald Trump announced Monday he is directing the Pentagon to create a new "space force" as an independent service branch aimed at ensuring US supremacy in space
IsraelDefense
| 19/06/2018
Photo: AP
US President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the Pentagon to create a new US "Space Force," which would become the sixth branch of the American military.
"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," Trump said during a meeting of the National Space Council.
"Our destiny beyond the Earth is not only a matter of national identity but a matter of national security," the president added.
Monday’s announcement follows broad endorsements of the concept by the Joint Chiefs’ office and various military branches, but the establishment of the new force still requires Congressional approval to take effect.
Trump has previously supported the idea of creating a sixth branch of the armed forces, adding to the US Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy and Coast Guard. He floated the idea for the force as a part of his national security strategy on March 13, saying "space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air, and sea."
Details about the role and timing of any new space force were not immediately clear. Nor is it clear which parts of the Pentagon’s space endeavors would be included in the new outfit. Currently, most of the Navy’s space-and-satellite work falls under the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, based in San Diego, while the Army has its Space and Missile Defense Command in Huntsville, Alabama. The bulk of the military’s space efforts are handled by the Air Force – specifically Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.
"Our Policy Board will begin working on this issue, which has implications for intelligence operations for the Air Force, Army, Marines, and Navy," Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement. "Working with Congress, this will be a deliberate process with a great deal of input from multiple stakeholders."
[Sources: CNBC, Defense One]
US President Donald Trump announced Monday he is directing the Pentagon to create a new "space force" as an independent service branch aimed at ensuring US supremacy in space
Photo: AP
US President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the Pentagon to create a new US "Space Force," which would become the sixth branch of the American military.
"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," Trump said during a meeting of the National Space Council.
"Our destiny beyond the Earth is not only a matter of national identity but a matter of national security," the president added.
Monday’s announcement follows broad endorsements of the concept by the Joint Chiefs’ office and various military branches, but the establishment of the new force still requires Congressional approval to take effect.
Trump has previously supported the idea of creating a sixth branch of the armed forces, adding to the US Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy and Coast Guard. He floated the idea for the force as a part of his national security strategy on March 13, saying "space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air, and sea."
Details about the role and timing of any new space force were not immediately clear. Nor is it clear which parts of the Pentagon’s space endeavors would be included in the new outfit. Currently, most of the Navy’s space-and-satellite work falls under the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, based in San Diego, while the Army has its Space and Missile Defense Command in Huntsville, Alabama. The bulk of the military’s space efforts are handled by the Air Force – specifically Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.
"Our Policy Board will begin working on this issue, which has implications for intelligence operations for the Air Force, Army, Marines, and Navy," Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement. "Working with Congress, this will be a deliberate process with a great deal of input from multiple stakeholders."
[Sources: CNBC, Defense One]
