{"id":58273,"date":"2019-12-21T01:07:50","date_gmt":"2019-12-21T01:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/21\/may-the-space-force-be-with-you-heres-what-we-know-about-the-us-militarys-newest-service\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:19:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:19:16","slug":"may-the-space-force-be-with-you-heres-what-we-know-about-the-us-militarys-newest-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/12\/21\/may-the-space-force-be-with-you-heres-what-we-know-about-the-us-militarys-newest-service\/","title":{"rendered":"May the Space Force be with you. Here\u2019s what we know about the US military\u2019s newest service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 With a wave of his pen, President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2019\/03\/01\/space-force-to-cost-2-billion-include-15000-personnel-in-first-five-years\/\" target=_blank>signed the Space Force <\/a>into being on Dec. 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a very big and important moment,\u201d Trump said during a Friday ceremony at Joint Base Andrews where he signed off on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2019\/12\/17\/congress-adopts-defense-bill-that-creates-space-force\/\" target=_blank>fiscal 2020 defense authorization bill<\/a>, which establishes the Space Force as a sixth military service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/12\/20\/trumps-new-space-force-to-reside-under-department-of-the-air-force\/\" target=_blank>under the Department of the Air Force<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSpace \u2014 there\u2019s going to be a lot of things happening in space, because space is the world\u2019s newest warfighting domain,&#8221; he said. \u201cAmerica\u2019s superiority in space is absolutely vital and we\u2019re leading, but we\u2019re not leading by enough, but very shortly we\u2019ll be leading by a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gen. John Raymond, who currently leads U.S. Space Command, will lead the Space Force as its first chief of space operations, Trump announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett \u2014 who is dual-hatted as the civilian leader of the Space Force \u2014 said that the establishment of the Space Force marked a \u201chistoric moment\u201d for the U.S. military, and that the Defense Department is moving forward to stand up the new service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere has been a planning team that has been building the phased construction of this force and the development of the force so that we have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/2019\/09\/16\/documents-reveal-how-the-space-force-would-launch-in-90-days\/\" target=_blank>plan at the 30, 60 and 90 \u2026 and the 120 day [mark]<\/a>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Raymond characterized the signing of the defense bill as \u201cday one\u201d for the Space Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are thousands and thousands of actions that are going to have to take place. Everything from what does a uniform look like, to a logo, to who is in the Space Force and who is not in the Space Force, and that work has been planned and will continue to be refined,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Air Force leaders stressed that much of the detailed planning work that will define the Space Force\u2019s makeup and culture is still yet to be done, and that changes to its structure could occur along the way. But ahead of the president\u2019s approval of the bill on Friday, officials spoke with reporters to lay out what is known about the new service:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Air Force Space Command is dead. Long live the Space Force. <\/b>After the legislation was signed, Air Force Space Command was immediately redesignated the Space Force, and 16,000 active duty and civilian personnel from AFSPC will now be assigned to the Space Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>But, technically speaking, there is only one person serving in the Space Force. <\/b>The legislation gives Trump the authority to appoint a uniformed leader of the Space Force, known as the Chief of Space Operations. Trump tapped Raymond for that role during the ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the 16,000 personnel transferring from Air Force Space Command are currently still considered U.S. Air Force airmen until they decide to permanently transfer over to the Space Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat would be a deliberate process that goes through in a voluntary manner that allows the individual airman to have a choice to where they go,\u201d said one senior Air Force official who spoke to reporters on background. \u201cWe need to work through that and go through that in detail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While all space operators, and certain specialists in space acquisition, intelligence and engineering, for instance, will be eligible to permanently transfer over to the Space Force, those who work for AFSPC as civil engineers, security forces, lawyers and other jobs, will remain U.S. Air Force personnel, the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The Army and Navy aren\u2019t part of the Space Force. Yet. <\/b>The legislation, as currently passed by Congress, only allows for the Air Force personnel to be transferred to the Space Force \u2014 a big change from the administration\u2019s legislative proposal, which could have also wrapped in space-related elements of the Army and Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the Defense Department\u2019s longterm vision of the Space Force is to consolidate space operators across the different military branches inside a single service, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Stephen Kitay said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even though the Army and Navy will not initially be eligible to join the Space Force, there will be detailees from across the joint force be part of standing up the headquarters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNaturally the Army and Navy will be partners in this and over time will be fully engaged in it,\u201d Barrett said, adding that the National Guard will also have a roll in Space Force development. \u201cThere have been Army and Navy participants in the planning and the development of the staged rollout that we have underway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A senior Air Force official added that the service plans to request authorization from Congress to include Army and Navy personnel in the Space Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Who will take over Space Force acquisition? That\u2019s still to be determined. <\/b>The legislation redesignates the Air Force secretary\u2019s principal assistant for space as the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration. The only problem is that the role has been vacant since John Stopher left this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force has a list of potential candidates who could take on the new title and has sought input from space experts and other stakeholders, Barrett said, but there\u2019s no concrete timeline to appoint that individual. \u201cWe would anticipate that as something that would be in the next several phases,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>All the fun cultural details \u2014 the Space Force emblem, what personnel will call themselves, whether they wear Star Trek uniforms \u2014 are still being formulated. <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s going to be really important that we get this right. A uniform. A patch. A song. It gets to the culture of a service,\u201d Raymond said. \u201cSo we\u2019re not going to be in a rush to get something, and not do that right. There\u2019s a lot of work going on towards that end. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to take a long time to get that done, but that\u2019s not something we\u2019re going to roll out on day one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Air Force bases centered around space operations \u2014 specifically Peterson, Buckley and Schriever AFB in Colorado; Vandenberg AFB in California; Patrick AFB in Florida and others \u2014 will likely be renamed to reflect that they are Space Force bases, Raymond said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Space Force may also diverge from the Air Force\u2019s organization into squadrons and wings, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have an opportunity. We looked at and will continue to look at different organizational constructs,\u201d Raymond said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hope is to nail down these details \u201cmuch sooner than 18 months,\u201d said a senior Air Force official who spoke to reporters on background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked whether a red shirt was being considered as part of the Space Force uniform \u2014 an allusion to the Star Trek series, where personnel wearing red shirts were seen by the fanbase as being more frequently killed off than other characters \u2014 another senior Air Force official jokingly stated that particular color scheme is not currently under consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>If the Space Force budget is cut to $40 million, as proposed in the FY20 appropriations bill, it won\u2019t be a huge deal. <\/b>Barrett said that because the Space Force is being stood up almost one quarter into the fiscal year, it does not necessarily <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/federal-budget\/2019\/03\/12\/heres-how-much-money-the-defense-department-wants-for-its-trio-of-new-space-organizations\/\" target=_blank>need the entire $72.4 million it requested in March.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe will phase development according to what the budget provides. Yes, it\u2019s less than what was requested but, yes, we\u2019ll quite ably work with the amount that is appropriated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>It\u2019s unclear whether the fiscal 2021 budget will have a separate Space Force budget. <\/b>Barrett, Raymond and Kitay declined to give any specifics about next year\u2019s Space Force budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat we have done over the past several months, is we have provided options so that the secretary of defense can work it with the executive branch\u201d and either give the Space Force its own budget or \u201chave it rolled under a complete [Department of the] Air Force budget,\u201d one Air Force official said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump signed the establishment of a Space Force into law on Dec. 20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":25817,"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":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["your-air-force","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-air-force"}}},"categories":[7,8,160,163,36,19,23],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3384],"class_list":["post-58273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-military-space-report","category-newsletters","category-pentagon","category-space"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"2PBSAU57CFCPBLM7I3DU6VNYFU","arc_canonical_url":"\/breaking-news\/2019\/12\/21\/may-the-space-force-be-with-you-heres-what-we-know-about-the-us-militarys-newest-service\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","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>May the Space Force be with you. 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