Former NASA astronaut, test pilot, and retired USAF Colonel Terry Virts is itching for a U.S. Space Force:
During my 30 plus years in the Air Force I had the privilege of serving as a pilot for my entire active duty career, with 16 of those years in Air Force Space Command as an astronaut. And I can say unequivocally that the air and space domains are completely different and independent of each other.
[...] If space is a separate domain, worthy of its own uniformed service, what exactly should it comprise, and what would it look like? Today, not only does the Air Force have its own space component, but so does the Army and Navy as well as other government agencies. I propose combining all "title 10" (i.e. combat related forces, as opposed to "title 50" intelligence gathering forces) assets that leave the atmosphere, or return from space, in a newly formed "Space Force," reporting directly to the secretary of Defense.
[...] I believe making this change will actually save money, as duplication is eliminated. It will also improve the quality of support that the joint force commander has at his disposal, as the joint-force space component commander will be entirely focused on providing space domain support to the joint fight, and not on pleasing an Air Force (or Navy or Army) chain of command that may have conflicting priorities.
[...] The time for a new uniformed service, the Space Force, is now. America deserves the most modern, efficient, and innovative military possible, and this will be a critical element in keeping us many steps ahead of our enemies.
Previously: The United States Space Corps Wants You...
Congressional Panel Puts Plans for a US Space Corps in 2018 Defense Budget
Related Stories
US lawmakers have drafted legislation proposing the formation of a new branch of the military called the Space Corps. This new space-orientated military service would join the five other branches of the United States Armed Forces and is intended to manage national security in space.
Last week, the House Armed Service Committee, led by Republican Chairman Mike Rogers and Ranking Member Democrat Jim Cooper, introduced the new legislation claiming that the current national security space systems in the United States are not capable of protecting the country's space assets.
"Not only are there developments by adversaries," says Mr Rogers and Mr Cooper in the committee release, "but we are imposing upon the national security space enterprise a crippling organizational and management structure and an acquisition system that has led to delays and cost-overruns."
Although the proposal establishes the US Space Corps as its own separate military service, it would still be operated from within the Department of the Air Force, in much the same way the US Marine Corps operates from within the Department of the Navy.
Will the space lasers make a 'pew, pew!' sound?
Don't get your hopes up too high about becoming a space marine quite yet. But if the House of Representatives' version of the 2018 defense budget goes through, you may soon be able to enlist in the US Space Corps.
Back in January of 2001, days before the inauguration of President George W. Bush, a commission headed by future Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned of a "space Pearl Harbor" and urged a reorganization of the military to put a greater emphasis on warfare in the space domain—defending US communications and intelligence satellites, and if necessary taking out the satellites of adversaries. In their report, the Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organizations told Congress, "The US is more dependent on space than any other nation... Yet the threat to the US and its allies in and from space does not command the attention it merits."
A few things happened that derailed efforts to change that perceived neglect. But now the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) has breathed new life into those old plans by including a provision in the House version of the 2018 US defense budget that would create a separate military service dedicated to the cause of space as a warfare domain: the US Space Corps. It would also create a separate joint command, the US Space Command, breaking the role out of the US Strategic Command much in the way that was done with the US Cyber Command.
Source: Ars Technica
Previously: The United States Space Corps Wants You...
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
Pence unveils plan to create Space Force by 2020
Vice President Mike Pence announced the Pentagon's detailed plan for President Donald Trump's vision of a Space Force on Thursday, which would establish the first military branch in over 70 years.
[...] Pence on Thursday stressed that the new branch would be built, in part, from pre-existing elements. "The Space Force will not be built from scratch," Pence said during a speech before members of the Pentagon. "This is a critical step toward's establishing the Space Force as the sixth branch of our armed forces."
Here are the four components to the Department of Defense establishing a Space Force:
First, DoD will establish a Space Development Agency to develop and field space capabilities at speed and scale. The Air Force has already begun to transform its Space and Missile Center (SMC). The Department will accelerate and extend this transformation to all services by creating a joint Space Development Agency.
Second, the Department will develop the Space Operations Force to support the Combatant Commands. These joint space warfighters will provide space expertise to combatant commanders and the Space Development Agency, and surge expertise in time of crisis to ensure that space capabilities are leveraged effectively in conflict.
Third, the Department will create the governance, services, and support functions of the Space Force. Many of these will require changes to U.S. law. The Department will build a legislative proposal for Congressional consideration as a part of the Fiscal Year 2020 budget cycle.
Fourth, the Department will create a U.S. Space Command, led by a four star general or flag officer, to lead the use of space assets in warfighting and accelerate integration of space capabilities into other warfighting forces. U.S. Space Command will be responsible for directing the employment of the Space Force.
Will Space Development Agency research trickle down to NASA?
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
President Trump Orders the Creation of a United States Space Force
(Score: 4, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Wednesday May 09 2018, @06:28PM (28 children)
Isn't the U.S. party to at least one international treaty that forbids the militarization of space?
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 09 2018, @06:38PM
As you say it is a small wrinkle easily smoothed by a few low altitude EMP bursting nukes. Try complaining now bitches!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 09 2018, @06:38PM (18 children)
Nope.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 09 2018, @06:43PM
It's OK, our deadly space-crowbars won't leave your city irradiated.
(Score: 3, Informative) by tangomargarine on Wednesday May 09 2018, @07:10PM (14 children)
I mean, I'd argue that tungsten rods dropped from orbit are basically weapons of mass destruction...
We're pretending that the term means anything anymore anyway. The morons in the government prosecuted the Boston marathon bombers for using WMDs for their pressure cooker bombs.
Are you fucking kidding me.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday May 09 2018, @07:20PM (4 children)
But you would lose that argument.
Tungsten rods, or cement training bombs, can punch through a single roof, maybe kill an entire "wedding party".
But that does not make them a weapon of mass destruction.
WMD has specific meaning.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Funny) by tangomargarine on Wednesday May 09 2018, @08:19PM (1 child)
So I suppose biological and chemical weapons aren't WMDs because they don't explode or catch on fire. Nice.
To quote that one Avengers movie, "I recognize that the council has made a decision, but given that it’s a stupid-ass decision, I’ve elected to ignore it."
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday May 10 2018, @03:15PM
Come to think of it, that line is rather apropos because it had to do with nuking NYC.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 09 2018, @11:37PM
Not so fast. Wikipedia says: "As the rod would approach Earth it would necessarily lose most of the velocity, but the remaining energy would cause considerable damage. Some systems are quoted as having the yield of a small tactical nuclear bomb."
Pretty sure something with the yield of a nuclear bomb can correctly be called a WMD.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 10 2018, @01:48AM
Speed and mass would determine how massive the destruction is. The asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs used the same principles, after all. A two ton steel bar accelerated on a rail gun to hypersonic speeds before gravity adds it's energy is going to cause a LOT of damage when it strikes the Pentagon. The airliner that struck the Pentagon was far more massive than that, but it was only moving at maybe 300 to 400 mph - probably slower since it was on a landing-like approach.
One of the attractions of kinetic weapons launched from a space platform is, it would be pretty easy to tailor each shot to the desired results. Eventually, 50 or 100 ton shots will be possible - maybe even larger.
The question is, do we want to destroy an office complex, or do we want to destroy the entire city block, the entire neighborhood, or do we want to make the city disappear? All possible with enough mass and speed.
(Score: 4, Touché) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday May 09 2018, @07:49PM
In fact, their destructive potential is directly proportional to their mass!
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday May 09 2018, @08:28PM
My prosecutor was clearly stifling his laughter when he proposed that I plea bargain five felony explosives counts down to a misdemeanor that was legislated so that it would be unlawful to possess tear gas intended to be discharged in a theater.
"He was making the equivalent of an ounce of black powder."
Actually I was making quite a lot less than an ounce but I let it slide.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 09 2018, @08:34PM
Bwahaha! Iraq actually did have Weapons of Mass Destruction!
I'm imagining my next Civ session when Ghandi starts threatening me with WMD and it turns out just to be a grenadier or two.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday May 10 2018, @05:55AM
By that definition, enough antimatter to level a city wouldn't qualify as a wmd.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by VLM on Thursday May 10 2018, @02:24PM (4 children)
As a slippery slope argument we're pretty chill with satellite infrared cameras watching for missile launches hooked up to nuclear launchers as long as there's a human in the loop. So have a human push the red button for the tungsten rods and we're all good?
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday May 10 2018, @03:07PM (3 children)
The problem isn't that WMDs exist; that's a different problem. The issue we're talking about here, is that we want to be able to sleep at night whenever another* country launches a rocket into space, not worry about whether it has a nuke onboard or a few hundred pounds of ball bearings [wikipedia.org] or tungsten rods or something.
*or, y'know, Trump wakes up in a bad mood one day and decides "fuck the U.N."
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 10 2018, @03:29PM (2 children)
Or, he could wake up in a good mood, and decide "Fuck the UN." What is the UN going to do about it?
(Score: 2) by VLM on Thursday May 10 2018, @03:38PM (1 child)
There's plenty of precedent; roughly six million times the UN has voted resolutions condemning Israel for crimes against humanity WRT their genocide of the Palestinians and various other misbehaviors, and every time so far, the previous non-Trump US presidents have sided with Israel stating "Fuck the UN". He certainly wouldn't be the first US president to ignore the UN.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 10 2018, @03:45PM
We should ask for a show of hands. How man Soylentils ignore the UN?
*raises hand*
Google search on "usefulness of the UN" gives me this: https://www.google.com/search?q=teats+on+a+boar+hog&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdnMqGvvvaAhVmMZoKHRbSDBMQ_AUICigB&biw=1909&bih=776 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday May 09 2018, @07:13PM
YUP! It does apply.
You can apparently put bombs in orbit, (and carry a single gun on the ISS if you are Russian) but you can't establish a base or an "installation".
So a Space Force would have no place to operate, or train, and no space bases to occupy.
It would have to launch from earth each time it needed to go to space, for any reason.
Military people on military payrolls have been the norm in space from the beginning. The X-37B [theatlantic.com] is as close as it gets to a military installation and a military maneuver. Apparently unarmed vehicles are allowed even if nobody is allowed to check that they are unarmed.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Thursday May 10 2018, @04:00PM
The problem with the OST is there's no liability for violating it.
For example, see "Astronauts shall be regarded as the envoys of mankind", I kid you not thats a copy and paste from the OST and it sounds like a lot of pot was smoked when they wrote it. Lets say space tourism kicks off and someone says "F it I'm not a diplomatic envoy I'm just Joe Average Tourist" and as such they refuse to participate in some social status signalling or who knows what. As a group of astronauts upon arrival after a successful launch you're supposed to hold your hand over your heart while reciting the UN declaration of human rights just to be smarmy and self rightous, instead Joe Average Space Tourist says fuck it and takes a knee like he's some kind of cucked NFL player. What are you gonna do, airlock the bastard? My guess is, nothing, absolutely nothing at all. Ditto all the other provisions of the treaty.
Something like the Bonn convention for birds is a framework for sub-agreements, but OST has nothing strictly underneath it. Theoretically we could have a sub-agreement with the Russians not to do X Y or Z or ELSE but without that specific agreement there's nothing, really..
Something like the GATT from the 40s to the 90s had economic weapons, agree or get financially punished. Not for for the OST.
Something like UNCLOS which is the backone of maritime law is important because there's infinite legal activity involving maritime activity; you can't quit without disrupting the hell out of ... I donno maybe one ongoing legal case per 100K residents or something. OST has no ongoing legal activity, break it without interfering with anything else.
"It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again" is comparative legal genius compared the the low effort legal comedy that is OST.
Some documents have a lot of enforcement both actively and traditionally, like the US constitution. Break it at your own risk, I'd advise against trying. OST is more like Asimovs "Three Laws of Robotics" where it sounds like a really neat idea but if you ignore one of the "laws" its not like legal lightning is going to strike you down. You can say its a treaty or you can say its a law or you can say its a camel passing thru the eye of a needle, but its a hell of a job enforcing any of it if there isn't any enforcement arm of the agreement.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday May 09 2018, @06:42PM (2 children)
Yes, it should be a Canadian Peace Keeping Space Force, codenamed The McKenzie's.
If war threatens, we'll just break out the brewskies and....peace! Perpetual Christmas truce, 1914 style.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 09 2018, @06:45PM (1 child)
They've been fighting mutants for years now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4KTebUT6Mw [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday May 09 2018, @06:58PM
Pssssst..ACT! ACT!
Watched this in the theater in the original run....wondered wtf was going on when it started like that, lol.
Ah, good times, good times.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Wednesday May 09 2018, @06:44PM (2 children)
Countries, especially the U.S., can unilaterally pull out of treaties whenever they feel like.
One solution to maximize the benefits of the treaty may be to continue to develop relevant technologies on the ground, within DARPA, then pull out and go full Space Force.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Fluffeh on Wednesday May 09 2018, @10:19PM
Everybody knows you never do a Full Space Force.
(Score: 2, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday May 10 2018, @11:59AM
I gave myself a deadline, I told myself I'd better pull out of the Iran deal by Saturday. But I pulled out on Tuesday. Because the longer I wait, the weirder it feels.
(Score: 1) by easyTree on Wednesday May 09 2018, @11:13PM
1) We haven't ruined space yet.
2) USA Space Police!
3) Jarheads in spaaaaace
4) Osama V2 might try to hide in space
5) ...?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday May 10 2018, @04:19PM
Ink on a page!
-- Lord Refa [wikipedia.org], ambassador from the Centuari Republic
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 09 2018, @06:54PM (5 children)
It will really help us to rename things.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 09 2018, @07:09PM (1 child)
Its the tower of Babel all over again...
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday May 10 2018, @04:24PM
It's purely a coincidence that
the European United Nations building [google.com]
looks like
The Tower of Babel [google.com]
One world government uniting all nations. Nah, just a coincidence.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by qzm on Wednesday May 09 2018, @11:06PM
Yes, Quite.
After all, the Russian Government has space launch capabiltites, as does China, India, France, Japan...
The US? Ummm.... Not so much. It has a few corporations who do..
I wonder how the US would feel if the Russians announced THEIR 'Space Corps', and looking at recent history, I
would not be surprised if they actually delivered something workable quickly and on budget...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 10 2018, @01:52AM (1 child)
I think we should rely on our own Buzzard to provide us with meaningful Buzzwords.
(Score: -1) by fakefuck39 on Friday May 11 2018, @09:03AM
Buzzard: I don't need to have a professional job because I win at life and can retire now if I live on a fishing boat
Runaway: quartz and aluminum are the same because I don't know the difference between an atom and a molecule
the two biggest dumbest losers on this site dissing each other. it's like ukrainians an russians fighting each other over how different they arrr.
(Score: 4, Touché) by looorg on Wednesday May 09 2018, @07:19PM (3 children)
Space force makes it sound like some shitty sci-fi from the 60's. If they are not going to call it Space Marines then there just is no hope. You already elected your God Emperor so you might as well do it.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday May 09 2018, @08:19PM
Call Holly Goodhead [wikia.com]!
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 09 2018, @08:42PM
Mobile infantry! Service guarantees citizenship!
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday May 10 2018, @03:07AM
I vote "Space Marines." They say funny things [youtube.com] when you tickle them.
If you want to name troops to serve a God Emperor, then you have to call them "Sardaukar."
Everybody knows that.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by J053 on Wednesday May 09 2018, @08:03PM (17 children)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday May 09 2018, @08:22PM (3 children)
I'd call GWI a decisive victory. If you can call the Arab Israeli six day war a war, then the first US actions in Kuwait / Iraq should count, too.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 10 2018, @01:57AM (2 children)
I had a smartass answer to that - but had to shitcan it. You're right, we actually did win GW1. For the most part, it had the desired results. I can't fault your logic, in honesty.
Unfortunately, a later president threw away that success by starting a second Gulf War which he had no idea how to win, or what the consequences might be. I think the net sum of our actions in the region is an abysmal loss. But we did have that one victory.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday May 10 2018, @01:13PM (1 child)
All a matter of perspective. I was living in Houston (practically Crawford's backyard) when W did his "Mission Accomplished" photoshoot. From the perspective of 99% of the population on the planet, GWII was a clusterfuck of epic proportions... however, I found it impossible to miss the smell of big oil in W's neighborhood, and I suspect that some of the bigger players in that niche got pretty much what they wanted out of GWII. Bush Sr. was a scary spook, but I kinda learned to respect him after awhile. IMO his son was the biggest embarrassment of a president in history, unfortunately he only held that title for 16 years.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 10 2018, @01:56PM
Bush Junior, the product of spook sperm? Hmmmm . . .
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday May 09 2018, @08:30PM (3 children)
My grandfather wasn't in the Air Force he was in the Army Air Force Medical Corps.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 10 2018, @02:08AM (2 children)
There was not an Army Air Force. It was the Army Air Corps. All of the Army's air power was just a corps. Almost exactly like all the Marine forces are just a corps within the Navy. That defunct Army Air Corps were the true leaders in close in ground support of troops. The Navy learned fast, but the Army did the hard learning on the front lines.
The Air Force is a political expedient, designed to give high rank to politically connected officers who could never have reached those ranks in the Army. And, the Air Force has seldom supported the grunts on the ground. Worse, they have actively sought to get rid of their very few close in support craft, when they did have them.
Your grandfather wouldn't recognize today's Air Force. The Air Force is little more useful than the Department of Homeland Security.
Your grandfather, if he served in World War Two, was almost certainly part of the Army Medical Corps, and he would have worked with the Air Corps just as the Navy's Medical Corps works along with the Marine Corps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Air_Corps [wikipedia.org]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_Corps_(United_States_Army) [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 10 2018, @02:15AM (1 child)
Oooops, I should have read my own link to wikipedia before I clicked submit. There WAS an "Army Air Force". Sorry. However - I still doubt that the AAF had it's own Medical Corps. They almost certainly utilized the parent force's medical corps. I'll need to read that article better tomorrow, and check out some of the links.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday May 10 2018, @02:32AM
He was a surgeon
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 09 2018, @08:43PM (1 child)
I think we won the cold war, and that's the war the air force actually "fought".
The Air Force was more about ICBMs, and the holes in the ground where they kept them, than planes and things.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday May 09 2018, @08:46PM
General Ripper's 843rd bomb wing would not agree...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 4, Informative) by Thexalon on Wednesday May 09 2018, @09:02PM (4 children)
I don't think so. US victories since the 1947 founding of the Air Force:
- 1958 Lebanon intervention.
- 1965-83 Thailand intervention.
- 1965-6 Dominican Republican intervention.
- 1966-7 Bolivia intervention.
- 1978 Zaire intervention.
- 1981-9 Repeated military confrontations and bombing of Libya.
- 1983 Grenada invasion.
- 1987-8 Tanker War, against Iran.
- 1989-90 Panama invasion.
- 1990-1 Gulf War I
- 1992-5 Bosnian intervention.
- 1994-5 Haiti intervention.
- 1998-9 Kosovo intervention.
- 2003-11 Iraq War (Yes, I know ISIS cropped up, but there's no question Saddam Hussein lost that one, badly)
- 2009-16 "Ocean Shield" against Somali pirates
- 2011 Libya intervention (Again, bad guys have since come into Libya, but Muammar Qaddafi is dead and his regime destroyed)
Now, you might not remember many of these, but that has more to do with the ridiculous imbalance of power between the forces of the US and, say, Haiti. And I've left off the draws, most notably Korea.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by J053 on Wednesday May 09 2018, @09:32PM (1 child)
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday May 09 2018, @10:49PM
Nope, you're still wrong: Of the countries I mentioned, the only ones without an air force were Grenada, Kosovo, and the Somali pirates.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 10 2018, @01:44AM (1 child)
That's odd I don't recall the US declaring war on any of those places you just listed.
The US has definitely invaded other countries, but no war was declared.
USA, the outlaw nation!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 10 2018, @02:50AM
but no war was declared
Correct.
The Constitution says that only the Congress can declare war.
That last happened December 8, 1941.
That war ended September 2, 1945 in Tokyo Bay.
All uses of military force by USA since then come under the heading of unconstitutional military aggression.
A republic doesn't do that kind of shit.
An empire, OTOH...
(If you're conjuring up an image of Palpatine, that's the proper frame of mind.)
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 10 2018, @01:11AM
You beat me to the punch, but I'm coming from a different angle. It figures the Air Force would propose this because they are the budgetary 800 lb gorilla. It is often pointed out (with a little more than a little grain of truth) that the Air Force modus operandi when they're given money to set up a new base is to go in and blow their budget on the golf courses and all the other amenities. They then go back to Congress and say that they need more money to put in hangars and runways. Ever been to a joint services base? You KNOW when you are on the Air Force side. It is filled with gold-plated crappers and contractors. There is a pretty clear demarkation between that part of the base and the Navy or Army sides.
Every decade or so the Air Force tries to take control of all of space. Yes, this is being proposed as "joint services" run, which means that the Air Force will have most of the people and facilities in place and they'll rotate in a different service head.
By the way, the reason that this hasn't happened before is that the different services really do have different space needs and it turns out that there is disagreements that come up when, for instance, the Air Force argues very strongly that they need a third satellite dedicated to looking for new places to set up a golf course instead of adding a new satellite with the capability to search for rogue ships or tanks.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Thursday May 10 2018, @02:29PM
There's another, bigger, problem with division of forces... A high school friend of mine because an avionics tech for our navy's army's air force, which is ridiculous sounding.
There's always a problem in military design of organic assets as close to the end user as possible which leads to the Marines having jet bombers, vs centralizing and putting almost everything that can't hover into the air force.
So you can make all the "space forces" you want, but nothing will stop, perhaps, the Coast Guard, from someday having space satellite commands, despite theoretically being a coastal boat force. I'm just saying I don't even really know the point of pretending to centralize a "Space Force". We don't even have a "Cyber Force" despite that having far more people.
(Score: 2) by donkeyhotay on Wednesday May 09 2018, @09:10PM
"Mr President, we must not have a space force gap!"
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/c00b94e5-bbb3-4ea9-a078-7a1a21b87bc5 [getyarn.io]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 09 2018, @09:22PM (1 child)
Probably about equal to how Homeland Security was supposed to make security operations one big happy family and not cost us any more.
Instead you'd get Space Force, and the Air Force would still insist on having a Space Command, and Army would still insist on having a Space Command, and Navy would have a Space Command, and NASA isn't giving up it's turf, he's already cut out NRO and the TLA crowd and...
Better idea: Unify all the uniformed services and don't have seven (!) branches (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Uniformed PHS, Uniformed NOAA) - just one United States Military. Then your military space activities would be unified also, right? This probably has as much chance at getting approved.
(Score: 2) by tekk on Thursday May 10 2018, @11:53AM
The argument against that (and always the argument for splitting up forces) is that rank is rank. You can't expect an army general to have an informed opinion on what naval maneuvers you should be doing.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Thexalon on Wednesday May 09 2018, @10:58PM
Of course, the creation of a Space Corps will create a Space Corps bureaucracy to go with it, and said Space Corps bureaucracy will have to issue all kinds of rules and regulations, such as:
Space Corps Directive 1742: "No member of the Corps should ever report for active duty in a ginger toupee."
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 10 2018, @01:41AM (5 children)
USAF Colonel Terry Virts is such a dim bulb that he can't fathom not having conflicts with other humans.
These kind people are the enemy of all humanity and should never be in positions of power.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 10 2018, @02:02AM (2 children)
Can you elaborate on that a bit?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 10 2018, @02:55PM (1 child)
You missed the italics in his post
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 10 2018, @03:24PM
Good call. Thank you!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 10 2018, @03:24PM
Put your money where your mouth is. Take your ass to Syria, sit in the middle of a disputed area, and sing Kumbaya. That will fix everything, right?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday May 10 2018, @04:28PM
I thought that Fake News was the enemy of all humanity. I was told this by our glorious dear leader.
Now I'm confused.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday May 10 2018, @03:10AM
C'mon, guys, a story about Space Force and not one reference to Moonraker? Not one reference to Aliens?
Let's rally. We can still do this.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday May 10 2018, @04:26PM
We DO NOT need a Space Force
If we need to fight wars in space, we can buy seats on Russian rockets.
Outsourcing it is cheaper than maintaining your own infrastructure.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.