{"id":68624,"date":"2018-08-13T19:29:30","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T19:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/13\/pentagon-chief-defends-his-reversal-on-space-force-says-its-the-right-thing-to-do\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:54:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:54:25","slug":"pentagon-chief-defends-his-reversal-on-space-force-says-its-the-right-thing-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2018\/08\/13\/pentagon-chief-defends-his-reversal-on-space-force-says-its-the-right-thing-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon chief defends his reversal on Space Force, says it\u2019s the right thing to do"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BRASILIA, Brazil \u2014 U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Sunday he is satisfied that creating a Space Force <\/a>as a separate military service is the right way to reorganize the Pentagon\u2019s approach to space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mattis, who last year opposed moves in Congress to create a separate space service<\/a>, said his emphasis then was on establishing a consensus about what the Pentagon\u2019s space problem is before recommending a way to fix it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was not against setting up a Space Force<\/a>,\u201d he told reporters flying with him to Brazil to begin his first tour of South America as defense secretary. \u201cWhat I was against was rushing to do that before we could define the problem\u201d that needed solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\t