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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday June 19 2018, @01:33AM   Printer-friendly
from the The-only-good-bug-is-a-dead-bug dept.

Trump orders creation of space-focused U.S. military branch

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he was ordering the creation of a sixth branch of the military to focus on space, a move critics said could harm the Air Force.

"It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space," Trump said before a meeting of his National Space Council. "We are going to have the Air Force and we're going to have the 'Space Force.' Separate but equal. It is going to be something," he said later.

The United States is a member of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which bars the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in space and only allows for the use of the moon and other celestial bodies for peaceful purposes.

The idea of a Space Force has been raised before, by Trump and previous administrations, with proponents saying it would make the Pentagon more efficient. It has also faced criticism from senior military officials. Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein told a 2017 congressional hearing that creating a new space branch would "move us in the wrong direction." The Air Force oversees most of the nation's space-related military activity.

The move would require the budgetary approval of the U.S. Congress, which has been divided on the idea.

President Trump orders the creation of new Starship Troopers/Space Marines memes.

We should have a separate "Space" topic on SoylentNews at this point. We are all going to be drafted to fight aliens eventually.

Also at BBC (#winning image).

Previously: The United States Space Corps Wants You...
Congressional Panel Puts Plans for a US Space Corps in 2018 Defense Budget
The Case for a U.S. Space Force


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  • (Score: 2) by Whoever on Tuesday June 19 2018, @02:46AM (6 children)

    by Whoever (4524) on Tuesday June 19 2018, @02:46AM (#694800) Journal

    Also, it increases our number of major armed services from 6 to 7 (Army, Navy, AirForce, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, and now SPACE FORCE!)

    Aren't the Marines technically a branch of the Navy? That would make it a change from 5 to 6.

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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday June 19 2018, @02:51AM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Tuesday June 19 2018, @02:51AM (#694804)

    There's technically, then there's administratively - as far as I can see, the Marines' administration is pretty well siloed away from the Navy.

    They all report to the CinC, so technically it's one big team, but something like Space Force will be creating a Marine-like silo in the Air Force, which was itself the "Army Air Corps" when my Grandfather served in WWII.

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  • (Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Tuesday June 19 2018, @03:33AM (1 child)

    by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Tuesday June 19 2018, @03:33AM (#694818) Journal

    Aren't the Marines technically a branch of the Navy?

    No. It's a common misperception, but they have been legally separate branches of the armed forces since around the end of WWII.

    The confusion remains because both are still administered under the Department of the Navy, but all the statutes enumerating separate armed services list the Marines as a separate entity, they have their Commandant as a full member of the Joint Chiefs, etc.

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday June 19 2018, @02:23PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 19 2018, @02:23PM (#694997) Journal

      Let us consider Annapolis. Boys, and now girls, sign up for education, then service, at the Naval Academy. They put in their four years, learning STEM type stuff. In their final couple of months, they have to decide - "Am I going to take a commission as a Naval Line officer, or as a Marine?" The Commandant still takes his marching orders from the Chief of Naval Operations.

      Yes, the Commandant is a member of the Joint Chiefs, because the Commandant understands better than the Chief what his men and equipment can do. But, Commandant is still subordinate to the CNO. It would take an act of congress to change that. Then what? Would we get a Two Star Commandant, a Vice Commandant, maybe a Rear Commandant? That could be interesting. But, until congress decides differently, the Marines will be part of the Department of the Navy.

  • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday June 19 2018, @03:46AM

    They used to be, yes, but they got promoted to a full branch of their very own a good while back.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19 2018, @03:03PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19 2018, @03:03PM (#695035)

    this is inefficient. they need to adopt devops model. fire all the middle management, flatten the organization. use proven agile methodologies.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19 2018, @05:46PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19 2018, @05:46PM (#695157)

      And no sitting during meetings, not even in the lifeboats!