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President Trump Orders the Creation of a Space Force

Accepted submission by takyon at 2018-06-18 21:04:44
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Trump orders creation of space-focused U.S. military branch [reuters.com]

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.

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


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