“It was the graduates of West Point, towering figures like MacArthur,
Patton, Eisenhower, and Bradley who led America to victory over the
sinister Nazis and imperial fascists 75 years ago.
“It was under the leadership of West Point graduates like the
legendary General Matthew Ridgway, that the army was at the
forefront of ending the terrible injustice of segregation. It was army
strength that held the line against brutal opposition and depression
from communism. And it has been thanks to patriots like you, that
America has climbed to new heights of human achievement and
national endeavor. This is your history, this is the legacy that each of
you inherits.”
Now there’s a sixth branch of the service starting to write the
opening chapter of its legacy: The United States Space Force
(USSF). It’s the first new branch since the Air Force was created in
1947. USSF was established on December 20, 2019, the result of a
directive that President Trump signed the previous February.
Here’s what President Trump said during a signing ceremony at
Joint Base Andrews: “Space is the world’s new war-fighting domain.
Among grave threats to our national security, American superiority in
space is absolutely vital. And we’re leading, but we’re not leading by
enough, and very shortly we’ll be leading by a lot.”
USSF’s goal is to “organize, train, and equip space forces in order
to protect US and allied interests in space and to provide space
capabilities to the joint force. Its responsibilities include developing
military space professionals, acquiring military space systems,
maturing the military doctrine for space power, and organizing space
forces to present to the Combatant Commands.”
Here’s what Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said: “Our reliance on
space-based capabilities has grown dramatically, and today outer
space has evolved into a war-fighting domain of its own.”
President Trump chose General John Raymond to serve as the Space
Force's first Chief of Space Operations. He is a member of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, and he previously served more than 35 years in United
States Air Force.
“We are elevating space commensurate with its importance to our
national security and the security of our allies and partners,” General
Raymond said.
Space Force’s Budget for 2020 is 40 million dollars; its proposed
budget for 2121 is about 15 billion dollars. The new military branch
is currently operating out of Colorado’s Peterson Air Force Base,
home to its predecessor, the Space Command, since 1987. No
location has been officially chosen for the new Space Force’s
headquarters, though the president has indicated Colorado is being
“very strongly” considered.
“We’ll be making that decision toward the end of the year,” he said.
USSF hearkens back to the Kennedy era, including a speech JFK
made at Rice University in 1962:
“Space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no
conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill
depends on man. And only if the United States occupies a position
of preeminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be
a sea of peace or a new terrifying theatre of war. I do not say that we
should or will go unprotected against the hostile misuse of space, any
more than we go unprotected against the hostile use of land or sea.”
As Commander in Chief, President Trump has not been shy about
framing his own legacy: “I am for the strongest military that the
United States ever had.”
A bold remark to be sure, but one that might have been
appreciated by the Prussian general and military theorist Carl von
Clausewitz who once said: “No military leader has ever become
great without audacity.”
But the president has combined his words with actions.
Loren Thompson, Forbes Senior Contributor for Aerospace &
Defense, has written what he believes were the “Top Five Steps Trump
Has Taken To Prepare the US Military for Whatever Comes Next.”
Readiness: “The Trump Pentagon launched a multi-phase process
to rebuild the military. In 2017, it would increase spending on
readiness. In 2018, it would sustain funding for readiness – training,
maintenance, etc. – while filling ‘holes’ in the military posture such
as inadequate stocks of precision munitions. In 2019, it would begin
making down payments on increased lethality to cope with the
challenges posed by Russia and China, and in 2020, it would go fullbore
on buying a new generation of weapons.”
PRESIDENT DONALD J TRUMP speaks to
service members and their families onboard
Naval Air Station Sigonella during an all-hands
call. US Navy photo by Mass Communication
Specialist 2nd Class Christopher Gordon.
120 The TRUMP RALLY Publication