Trump Signs Defense Bill Creating US 'Space Force'
America now has a new branch of the military — the U.S. Space Force.
The new branch, which will be manned by Air Force Space Command personnel, was officially created Friday when President Donald Trump signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
“This is a truly historic day for the American armed forces,” Trump said, according to a White House media pool report.
“Today also marks another landmark achievement, as we officially inaugurate the newest branch of our military. This is a very big and important moment. It’s called the Space Force.”
“It was nearly half a century from Kitty Hawk to the creation of the Air Force. And now it’s 50 years after Apollo 11 that we create the Space Force,” the president added.
“That is something really incredible. It’s a big moment. That’s a big moment, and we’re all here for it. Space. Going to be a lot of things happening in space, because space is the world’s newest warfighting domain.”
Trump said the Space Force is necessary to ensure that space does not become controlled by America’s rivals.
“Amid grave threats to our national security, American 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,” he said.
“The Space Force will help us deter aggression and control the ultimate high ground.”
Trump singled out Mike Pence for praise for the vice president’s efforts to create the Space Force.
“He was so involved in this with me. This was a — a real — we had the spirit, the love that — I think we can say, Mike, that we both had for this project. Because we realized how important it is to our military, to our future, to our defense — so important. And it’s going to blend in magnificently with everything else that we have. So, I want to thank Mike Pence. Mike, thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Great job, Mike,” Trump said.
The Space Force has an initial budget of $40 million, according to the New York Post.
Creation of the Space Force was celebrated on Twitter.
.@realDonaldTrump ends 2019 impeached but defiant, with USMCA, Phase 1 China deal, Space Force, 185 federal judges, lowest unemployment in half a century, a stock market that has increased by 50% since Election Day, and a unified Republican Party.
— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) December 21, 2019
“There are grave threats to our national security,” said @POTUS. “American superiority in space is absolutely vital. The Space Force will help us deter aggression and control the ultimate high ground.”https://t.co/EdSDhwlMtK
— United States Space Force (@SpaceForceDoD) December 21, 2019
Space is vital to the security of our nation & we look forward to working with our nation’s newest military service. The Army is the largest user of space-enabled systems. #SpaceForce will improve our #Soldiers ability to fight & win on the battlefield. pic.twitter.com/4A7BK3T6V3
— SecArmy (@SecArmy) December 21, 2019
America is leading again in space, and no president has worked harder to anticipate emerging threats and secure the strategic high ground than President @realDonaldTrump. Last night’s historic NDAA signing creating the U.S. Space Force is a victory for all Americans! pic.twitter.com/PfSe5SCt5F
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) December 21, 2019
Trump said Air Force Gen. Jay Raymond will be the nation’s first Chief of Space Operations and the first member of the Space Force.
“It’s going to be really important that we get this right. A uniform, a patch, a song — it gets to the culture of a service,” Raymond, the current head of Air Force Space Command and U.S. Space Command, said, according to Air Force Times.
“There’s a lot of work going on toward that end. It’s going to take a long time to get to that point, but that’s not something we’re going to roll out on day one.”
Raymond said officials have limited precedents to guide them in determining how various commands in different branches of the service might be incorporated into the Space Force.
“There’s not a really good playbook on, how do you stand up a separate service?” Raymond said. “We haven’t really done this since 1947.”
“There’s still a lot of things that we don’t know.”
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