{"id":29107,"date":"2017-10-06T12:26:53","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T12:26:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/10\/06\/thornberry-theres-no-time-to-wait-for-space-corps\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:03:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:03:31","slug":"thornberry-theres-no-time-to-wait-for-space-corps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2017\/10\/06\/thornberry-theres-no-time-to-wait-for-space-corps\/","title":{"rendered":"Thornberry: US needs Space Corps now to counter Russia, China threats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 As lawmakers debate a proposal to start a new military branch dedicated to space, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry said the time for Congress to act is now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t meant to be too dismal, but I\u2019ve been in too many classified briefings,\u201d Thornberry, R-Texas, told reporters Thursday. \u201cAs I look at what Russia and the Chinese are doing, we don\u2019t have a lot of evolutionary time to sit and hope we kind of drift in the right direction. We are more dependent than anybody else on space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comments come as lawmakers work to reconcile the House version of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act \u2014 which proposes a Space Corps \u2014 with the Senate\u2019s version \u2014 which takes a wholly different approach. The Senate NDAA proposes a new position of chief information warfare officer, reporting directly to the defense secretary, to oversee military cyber and space policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea behind the new branch is that America\u2019s military has become evermore dependent on satellites for communication, intelligence and navigation, and that it must reorganize to best counter foes already working to exploit that vulnerability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as the Air Force naturally evolved out of the Army Air Corps decades ago, so too must space evolve past the air domain into a domain of its own, with its own acquisitions programs, culture and unique war-fighting abilities, Thornberry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think there is no disagreement among anybody, space is not going well, so the only conversation to have is: What\u2019s the right answer?\u201d Thornberry told reporters Thursday. \u201cOur view is, culturally, you have to have some separation to have priority on resources, war fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The HASC-passed NDAA would direct the Defense Department to establish a Space Corps by Jan. 1, 2019. It would fall under the Department of the Air Force but operate as an independent service, similar to the Marine Corps\u2019 relationship to the Department of the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That language, which came from House Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and ranking member Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., passed in the House version of the NDAA despite opposition from the White House, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson.<\/p>\n\n\n