{"id":26927,"date":"2018-08-09T15:54:42","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T15:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:56:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:56:36","slug":"space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon lays groundwork for Space Force to blast off in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=a0709156-37aa-4fb5-b50d-0c9c2d5393d4\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-a0709156-37aa-4fb5-b50d-0c9c2d5393d4.jpg\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Vice President Mike Pence reveals four things the Pentagon is doing to create a Space Force.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Vice President Mike Pence on Aug. 9 unveiled the Pentagon\u2019s plan to set the stage for a Space Force \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/06\/18\/trump-orders-creation-of-independent-space-force\/\" target=_blank>a new military service branch centered around space operations<\/a> \u2014 which could be in effect as early as 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That plan involves creating an independent<a href=\"http:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/08\/03\/pentagon-redoing-space-defenses-but-will-trump-demand-more\/\"> unified combatant command<\/a>, U.S. Space Command, that will eventually be led by a four-star general, Pence said during a speech at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It also calls for naming an assistant secretary of defense for space that will be in charge of standing up the department of the U.S. Space Force and could eventually transition to the position of its first service secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pence\u2019s announcement comes after President Donald Trump ordered Defense Department leaders in June to begin paving the way to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/05\/01\/trump-again-teases-space-force-as-the-sixth-military-branch\/\" target=_blank> set up a Space Force<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2018\/06\/19\/trump-wants-a-space-force-now-what\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-977952058.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Trump wants a Space Force. Now what?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">How do you build a new military service from scratch?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCreating a new branch of the military is not a simple process,\u201d Pence said, and a new Pentagon report that will be delivered to Capitol Hill today will lay out four steps the Defense Department will take in preparation of standing up a Space Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/partner-mco-archive.s3.amazonaws.com\/client_files\/1533834803.pdf\" target=_blank><b>Click here to see the Pentagon\u2019s \u201cFinal Report on Organizational and Management Structure for the National Security Space Components of the Department of Defense.\u201d<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The four steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><b>Create U.S. Space Command as a new unified combatant command.<\/b> The new organization will be led by a four-star general and will establish the space war-fighting doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures.<\/li><li><b>Build an elite group of space officers called \u201cSpace Operations Force,\u201d <\/b>which will be comprised of all of the services and \u201cgrow into their own cohesive community\u201d similar to that of special operators, Pence said. \u201cThey will support the combatant command by providing space expertise in times of crisis and conflict.\u201d<\/li><li><b>Develop the Space Development Agency, a new joint procurement arm for space products. <\/b>Pence said space acquisition had become too bureaucratic and that U.S. ability to innovate had been stifled by \u201cneedless layers of red tape.\u201d The Space Development Agency, by contrast, would leverage prototyping and experimentation to achieve technology breakthroughs.<\/li><li><b>Name a civilian to the post of assistant secretary of defense for space.<\/b> This official will be charged with making the Space Force a reality, oversee the service\u2019s expansion and would report to the secretary of defense. \u201cThis leader will be key to a critical transition to a fully independent secretary of the space force.\u201d&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link smg-interstitial-link--fallback wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/partner-mco-archive.s3.amazonaws.com\/client_files\/1533834803.pdf\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__fallback-link\">The Defense Department&#039;s report on standing up a Space Force<\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The need for an independent space force was clear to the administration, Pence said, as competitors and potential adversaries such as China and Russia have developed new weaponry geared toward destroying or interrupting U.S. satellites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vice president cited a 2007 Chinese test of an anti-satellite missile; a airborne laser under development by Russia that will be able to destroy space-based systems; Russian and Chinese investments in hypersonics; and other technologies that would allow the two Eastern nations to steer their satellites in close proximity of U.S. assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs their actions made clear, our adversaries have transformed space into a war fighting domain already,\u201d Pence said. \u201cThe U.S. will not shrink from this challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Only Congress can officially create a new service branch by amending Title 10 of the United States code \u2014 something that Pence himself acknowledged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUltimately Congress must act to establish this new department, which will organize, train and equip the United States Space Force,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur administration is already working with leaders in Congress to do just that. We\u2019re building bipartisan support for our plan, working closely with committee counterparts\u201d such as House Armed Services Committee head Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, his Democratic counterpart Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, and the two leaders of the HASC Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Jim Cooper, D-Tenn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the idea of a space force is popularly associated with Trump, it actually grew out of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/reagan-defense-forum\/2017\/12\/02\/key-lawmaker-vows-to-continue-space-corps-fight\/\" target=_blank>a proposal by Rogers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rogers envisioned a \u201cSpace Corps\u201d that would be carved out of the Air Force, with its own budget, war-fighting cadre and speedier acquisition process. The Space Corps plan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2017\/07\/13\/trump-mattis-lose-as-space-corps-proposal-survives-in-defense-policy-bill\/\" target=_blank>gained ground in the House<\/a>, but was opposed by the Senate, White House and Pentagon. Eventually, it was killed in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, although language was included requiring the Pentagon to study the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a joint statement issued after Pence\u2019s speech, Cooper and Rogers praised the report in a joint statement after Pence\u2019s speech, saying the steps taken would help speed up acquisition and give space professionals \u201cmore clout\u201d in the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have been warning for years of the need to protect our space assets and to develop more capable space systems,\u201d Rogers and Cooper stated. \u201cWe are glad that the Pentagon is finally taking these steps in enhancing our space strength.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pence\u2019s speech was attended by a host of top Defense Department and Air Force leaders, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/06\/20\/space-force-will-require-legislation-and-a-lot-of-detail-planning-says-mattis\/\" target=\"_blank\">Defense Secretary Jim Mattis<\/a>; Ellen Lord, the Pentagon\u2019s undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment; Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2018\/06\/20\/air-force-leadership-dont-expect-immediate-space-force-changes\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4238624.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Air Force leadership: Don\u2019t expect immediate Space Force changes<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">After a surprising announcement, Air Force leaders struck a reassuring note.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two of them \u2014 Mattis and Goldfein \u2014 were previously major critics of the Space Corps proposal, having warned Congress that splitting off space operations could weaken existing military efforts to treat space as a new war-fighting domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, earlier this week, Mattis told reporters that he was \u201cin complete agreement\u201d with the president and that he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/08\/07\/pentagon-setting-up-new-combatant-command-for-space-operations-mattis-confirms\/\" target=\"_blank\">would be supportive of a combatant command for space<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. will also create an independent unified combatant command.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":78278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":39,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[8,106,29,32,39],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3188,3373],"class_list":["post-26927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c2-comms","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-newsletters","category-satellites"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"B3UY64PVWFG45DAMVBCSCIWYDI","arc_canonical_url":"\/space\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/","remove_feature_photo":true,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"remove-feature-image","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pentagon lays groundwork for Space Force to blast off in 2020 - C4ISRNet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The U.S. will also create an independent unified combatant command.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pentagon lays groundwork for Space Force to blast off in 2020\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The U.S. will also create an independent unified combatant command.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"C4ISRNet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-09T15:54:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T22:56:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Valerie Insinna, Tara Copp, AP\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Valerie Insinna, Tara Copp, AP\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Pentagon lays groundwork for Space Force to blast off in 2020\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-08-09T15:54:42+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T22:56:36+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 915,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/final-to-upload.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"C2\\\/Comms\",\n\t                \"Daily Brief\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Satellites\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Pentagon lays groundwork for Space Force to blast off in 2020 - C4ISRNet\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/final-to-upload.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-08-09T15:54:42+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T22:56:36+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The U.S. will also create an independent unified combatant command.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/final-to-upload.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/final-to-upload.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/09\\\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"C2\\\/Comms\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"c2-comms\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Satellites\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/c2-comms\\\/satellites\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"satellites\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Pentagon lays groundwork for Space Force to blast off in 2020\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"C4ISRNet\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Media for the Intelligence-Age Military | C4ISRNET\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"C4ISRNet\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c4isrnet-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c4isrnet-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"C4ISRNet\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pentagon lays groundwork for Space Force to blast off in 2020 - C4ISRNet","description":"The U.S. will also create an independent unified combatant command.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pentagon lays groundwork for Space Force to blast off in 2020","og_description":"The U.S. will also create an independent unified combatant command.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/","og_site_name":"C4ISRNet","article_published_time":"2018-08-09T15:54:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T22:56:36+00:00","author":"Valerie Insinna, Tara Copp, AP","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Valerie Insinna, Tara Copp, AP","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Pentagon lays groundwork for Space Force to blast off in 2020","datePublished":"2018-08-09T15:54:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T22:56:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/"},"wordCount":915,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/final-to-upload.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["C2\/Comms","Daily Brief","Home","Newsletters","Satellites"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/","name":"Pentagon lays groundwork for Space Force to blast off in 2020 - C4ISRNet","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/final-to-upload.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2018-08-09T15:54:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T22:56:36+00:00","description":"The U.S. will also create an independent unified combatant command.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/final-to-upload.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/final-to-upload.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2018\/08\/09\/space-force-will-be-6th-military-branch-by-2020-vice-president-pence-announces\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"C2\/Comms","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/","ad_zone":"c2-comms"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Satellites","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/c2-comms\/satellites\/","ad_zone":"satellites"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Pentagon lays groundwork for Space Force to blast off in 2020"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/","name":"C4ISRNet","description":"Media for the Intelligence-Age Military | C4ISRNET","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#organization","name":"C4ISRNet","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c4isrnet-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c4isrnet-logo-white.png","caption":"C4ISRNet"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"C4ISRNet","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/final-to-upload.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26927"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39435,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26927\/revisions\/39435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26927"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=26927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}