Trump directs creation of 'space force' as sixth branch of military

[MarkOttawa]

Space Force (actually Space Command, for now) and NRO:

Tectonic Shift As NRO Moved Under Space Command In Wartime [how does the US define that these days?]
US Space Command will officially stand-up on Aug. 29, with four main missions: "missile warning, satellite operations, space control and space support," says JCS Chair Gen. Joseph Dunford.

If war in space erupts, the new US Space Command will have the power to order the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to take “defensive space operations” under a new joint concept of operations. The new chain of command represents a tectonic plate shift in US national security space, which has long been plagued by often testy relationships between the Intelligence Community and DoD.

“For the first time, there will be a unified structure that fully integrates Intelligence Community and Department of Defense space defense plans, authorities and capabilities to ensure seamless execution of space defense systems,” Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire told the National Space Council today.

“Furthermore, should conflict extend to space, the NRO will take direction from the Commander of US Space Command and execute defensive space operations based on a jointly developed playbook and informed by a series of exercises and war games,” he added.

Maguire admitted that establishing coordination and cooperation between the NRO — which builds and operates US spy satellites — and US military space operations (even in wartime) has been an almost impossible task. As Breaking D readers know, for two years the former NRO Director, Betty Sapp, resisted efforts by the two top civilians in the Defense Department to create what in 2017 became the National Space Defense Center (NSDC) under Strategic Command. And NSDC’s powers to integrate NRO and military space activities was limited.

Commanders in the field for decades have been clamoring (even as this is being written) for their own satellite systems that would be more responsive to their immediate tactical needs, rather than having to wait for NRO to re-prioritize its relatively few and usually exquisite satellites. The Army, in particular, has plans to develop its own remote sensing and other types of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) [emphasis added].

But the Air Force, which controls about 90 percent of the DoD’s space budget, also has clashed with NRO over perceived priority needs. “This is a big deal,” one Air Force insider said, noting that currently NRO, the Air Force and NASA meet three times a year to “untie these knots.”

“For years there have been debates about how NRO and military space organizations can be better integrated,” Maguire conceded. He explained that Space Policy Directive-4, issued in February, not only called for a new Space Force, but tasked the IC and DoD to develop an “enhanced mechanism” designed to “increase unity of effort and effectiveness” of space operations.

“Early in this task, we recognized that the proposed establishment of US Space Command provided us with the opportunity to finally determine the appropriate level of integrations between the Intelligence Community and DoD to ensure effective space operations,” he said.

The new organizational structure will maintain the NSDC at Strategic Command that was established in April 2017 to integrate NRO data into military space operations, but will expand its remit and deepen interagency ties.

Meanwhile, the NSDC will be shifted to US Space Command, once the command is formally stood up on Aug. 29 by Vice President Mike Pence [emphasis added], as announced today by Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dunford said that initially 87 units will be transferred to the new unified command under Gen. John Raymond. Raymond’s mission, he said, will focus on “missile warning, satellite operations, space control and space support.”..
https://breakingdefense.com/2019/08/tectonic-shift-as-nro-moved-under-space-command-in-wartime/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Spencer100]

https://www.space.com/x-37b-military-space-plane-otv5-duration-record.html

Interesting piece about the X-37B Space plane

 

[tomahawk6]

Its official.

https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/1948288/department-of-defense-establishes-us-space-command/source/GovDelivery/

 

[MarkOttawa]

Sixth service exists, sort of:

Congress adopts defense bill that creates Space Force

Congress has approved a compromise defense policy bill that creates a new Space Force in exchange for establishing paid parental leave for federal workers, as part of $738 billion for the Pentagon for 2020.

The Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill Tuesday, 82-8, just days after the House passed it, 377-48. The bill now goes to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature, and he has signaled he will sign the defense policy measure.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said he opposed the bill because of its negative impact on the national deficit. A congressional agency estimated it would add $5.6 billion to the deficit through 2029.

“Ultimately, this bill furthers the practice of passing legislation while ignoring the budget rules of the Senate and our overspending problem,” Enzi said. “All of this borrowing will continue to cost us increased interest payments and will hamstring future generations of Americans.”

Passage of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act clears an item from Congress’ to-do list in a hectic week in which it must pass spending legislation by 11:59 p.m. on Friday to avoid a government shutdown. The House is also expected to act on a trade deal with Mexico and Canada as well as vote on articles of impeachment against Trump.

The bill authorizes $635 billion in base discretionary funds for the Pentagon, $71.5 billion in overseas contingency operations funds and $23.1 billion for nuclear programs at the Energy Department. It also authorizes $5.3 billion in emergency aid for disaster-struck bases in Nebraska, Florida and North Carolina.

The NDAA would redesignate Air Force Space Command as the new, sixth armed service, but it included language to prohibit any new billets, meaning the organization must be built with existing forces. Likewise, the defense appropriations bill would grant $32 million less than the administration’s $72.4 million request [emphasis added].

On the personnel side, the NDAA authorizes a new process to redress military medical malpractice cases, improvements to scandal-plagued military housing, the elimination of the military “widows tax” and prohibitions on the military’s use of “PFAS” chemicals. It also includes a 3.1 percent pay raise, the largest in a decade [emphasis added]...
https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2019/12/17/congress-adopts-defense-bill-that-creates-space-force/

More:

Air Force Wins Big In Defense Spending Bill But Space Force $$ Whacked
The 2020 defense spending bill gives the Air Force $3.0 billion for the B-21 bomber program and $960 million for Next Generation Air Dominance in RDT&E money.

The Air Force came out smelling of roses in the 2020 minibus appropriations bill agreed to by the House and Senate yesterday, and passed by the House today.

Most of the service’s major programs were fully funded, and in some cases, were plumped up. But it didn’t win every battle for funding. Congressional appropriators almost cut in half funding for a signature element of the policy battle this year, the Space Force. The service’s request for $72.4 million to stand it up as a sixth branch of the US military got whacked to only $40 million. The NDAA did authorize the new force, which will be organized underneath the Air Force in a manner similar to how the Marine Corps is organized under the Navy [emphasis added]...
https://breakingdefense.com/2019/12/air-force-wins-big-in-defense-spending-bill-but-space-force-whacked/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[FJAG]

Looks like Congress isn't quite on board with Trump's pet project.

Superficially and financially at least the new organization seems to be limited to a rebranding of the US Air Force Space Command but the adding of a seat at the Joint Chiefs of Staff table and it's own Title 10 authority may open some options for the future. On the other hand Title 10 can limit what it gets in the way of funding from Congress.

All-in-all this seems like a big nothing burger for the time being although Trump will trumpet it as a great victory. It really will depend on how this plays out in the future. At it's simplest pros and cons, a seat at the JCOS gives it a voice independent of the Air Force while on the other hand it might be better if air and space resources were under one command.

op:

 

[tomahawk6]

The Space Force will be the US version of the FFL.  ;D

 

[Kat Stevens]

This thing must be close, here's a leaked video of their march past.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwpmqMnngRk

 

[MarkOttawa]

Present at the creation:

May the Space Force be with you. Here’s what we know about the US military’s newest service

With a wave of his pen, President Donald Trump signed the Space Force into being on Dec. 20.

“This is a very big and important moment,” Trump said during a Friday ceremony at Joint Base Andrews where he signed off on the fiscal 2020 defense authorization bill, which establishes the Space Force as a sixth military service under the Department of the Air Force [emphasis added].

“Space — there’s going to be a lot of things happening in space, because space is the world’s newest warfighting domain," he said. “America’s superiority in space is absolutely vital and we’re leading, but we’re not leading by enough, but very shortly we’ll be leading by a lot.”

Gen. John Raymond, who currently leads U.S. Space Command, will lead the Space Force as its first chief of space operations [emphasis added], Trump announced.

Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett — who is dual-hatted as the civilian leader of the Space Force [emphasis added, like USMC as separate service under navy secretary] — said that the establishment of the Space Force marked a “historic moment” for the U.S. military, and that the Defense Department is moving forward to stand up the new service.

“There 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 plan at the 30, 60 and 90 … and the 120 day [mark],” she said.

Raymond characterized the signing of the defense bill as “day one” for the Space Force.

“There 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,” he said.

Air Force leaders stressed that much of the detailed planning work that will define the Space Force’s 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’s approval of the bill on Friday, officials spoke with reporters to lay out what is known about the new service:

Air Force Space Command is dead. Long live the Space Force. 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 [emphasis added].

But, technically speaking, there is only one person serving in the Space Force. 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.

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 [emphasis added].

“That 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,” said one senior Air Force official who spoke to reporters on background. “We need to work through that and go through that in detail.”

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.

The Army and Navy aren’t part of the Space Force. Yet [emphasis added]. The legislation, as currently passed by Congress, only allows for the Air Force personnel to be transferred to the Space Force — a big change from the administration’s legislative proposal, which could have also wrapped in space-related elements of the Army and Navy.

However, the Defense Department’s longterm vision of the Space Force is to consolidate space operators across the different military branches inside a single service [emphasis added], Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Stephen Kitay said.

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...
https://www.defensenews.com/breaking-news/2019/12/21/may-the-space-force-be-with-you-heres-what-we-know-about-the-us-militarys-newest-service/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[dapaterson]

So, the Army begat the Air Force.  The Air Force begat the Space Force.

Does that make the Army the grandparent?  Do they have to send a cheque every birthday and for Christmas?

 

[observor 69]

Who knew, they're on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpaceForceDoD

 

[MarkOttawa]

One presumes the operational command of US Space Force will be US Star Fleet .

Mark
Ottawa

 

[CBH99]

Kinda makes the movie Ad Astra seem all the more real within the next 100 years or so

 

[Kilted]

So he officially created the Space Force the day that Star Wars came out?

 

[brihard]

So he officially created the Space Force the day that Star Wars came out?

Orange 5, standing by.

 

[dimsum]

Orange 5, standing by.

:rofl:

 

[tomahawk6]

Space where we are all aliens.

 

[FJAG]

Orange 5, standing by.

Not to quibble but as the CiC shouldn't that be "Orange Six"?

;D

 

[dapaterson]

Not to quibble but as the CiC shouldn't that be "Orange Six"?

;D

Ignore him, he's just a scruffy looking nerf herder.

 

[MarkOttawa]

This is the URL,
https://www.spaceforce.mil/

and the twitter address:
https://twitter.com/SpaceForceDoD

Further links at original.

Space Force Has Its First Launch: An Official Website

The U.S. Space Force has launched its official website, giving prospective service members a glimpse into the military's newest branch and how they can join the space mission.

Spaceforce.mil went live shortly after President Donald Trump signed the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act on Friday evening. The website also connects to the branch's official social media pages, USSpaceForceDoD on Facebook and @SpaceForceDoD on Twitter.

Space Force falls under the U.S. Air Force, so recruits can surf the Air Force's career website, AirForce.com, to search for space-related jobs -- including space operations, space systems operations, missile- and space-related maintenance and protection of missile and space facilities.

"The U.S. Space Force, an independent service singularly focused on protecting our interests and security in space, launches the nation into a new era," Air Force leaders said in a letter to the force Dec. 20. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett and Gen. John Raymond, the head of U.S. Space Command and recent Chief of Space Operations appointee, all signed the letter.

"Forging a new service is a historic opportunity to deliver world-class capabilities to the American people," the letter states.

Roughly 16,000 active-duty and civilian personnel who used to make up Air Force Space Command are now assigned to the Space Force following the enactment of the fiscal 2020 NDAA.

Over the next 18 months, Air Force officials will identify more personnel to transfer branches and become U.S. Space Force service members, the service said Friday.

Within 60 days, the Air Force will reach out to uniformed airmen "to inform them whether their specialty code is organic to the Space Force, organic to the Air Force, or shared between Air Force and Space Forces," according to a Space Force factsheet...
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/12/23/space-force-has-its-first-launch-official-website.html

Mark
Ottawa

 

[brihard]

Ignore him, he's just a scruffy looking nerf herder.

Boring conversation anyway.