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The Creation of a “Space Force” Could Take Years

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The Creation of a “Space Force” Could Take Years

The Creation of a “Space Force” Could Take Years

By Debbie Gregory.

 

President Donald Trump has announced his intent to create a sixth branch of the military, calling it the “space force.”

 

The idea of a separate, space-focused military branch is not new, going all the way back to President Dwight Eisenhower’s administration.

 

“We are going to have the Air Force, and we are going to have the Space Force — separate but equal,” President Trump said.

 

Currently, the Air Force Space Command is taked with the majority of the oversight of national security in space. The Command supervises launches, DOD satellites, and determines what to buy for military space. The National Reconnaissance Office also oversees surveillance satellites that are key for targeting weapons, as well as assessing the damage they inflict

 

According to Todd Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Air Force doesn’t have the manpower to staff a dedicated space corps with the capabilities that leaders want.

 

“This is major legislation. It is going to take years. I don’t think Congress will get around to authorizing it until next year at the earliest,” Harrison said.

 

Anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 personnel could be added to the space force, augmented by a force of contractors and civilians that may be double that number.

 

A letter to airmen signed by Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth Wright said the Air Force looked forward to working with the Defense Department, Congress and other national security partners to “move forward on this planning effort.”

 

If a Space Force becomes a relity, it would be the sixth branch of the Armed Forces, joining the Army , Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

 

In the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress directed the Pentagon to study existing space programs. An interim version of the study was published in March, and it vague regarding the idea of a unified “Space Corps.” The full report will publish by August 1.

 

Trump’s Comments on Nuclear Treaty Raise Concerns

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By Debbie Gregory.

Last week, President Trump made comments about the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty ) Treaty, calling it “a one-sided deal” and a “bad deal,” and pledged that “if countries are going to have nukes, we’re going to be at the top of the pack.”

The treaty, with the formal name Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, was signed between Russia and the United States in April 2010 in Prague, and entered into force on February 5, 2011. The Treaty’s duration is ten years — until 2021, unless superseded by a subsequent agreement.

Under the Treaty, the U.S. and Russia agreed to limit their deployed forces to 1,550 warheads over 700 delivery systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and bombers by February 5, 2018.

According to a Reuters report on February 9, 2017, in Trump’s first telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump denounced the treaty claiming that it favored Russia and was “one of several bad deals negotiated by the Obama administration.”

The independent non-profit Arms Control criticized the president’s remarks, saying “Mr. Trump’s comments suggest, once again, that he is ill-informed about nuclear weapons and has a poor understanding of the unique dangers of nuclear weapons. The history of the Cold War shows us that no one comes out on ‘top of the pack’ of an arms race and nuclear brinksmanship.”

“Any effort to undo the agreement or suggest the administration is not interested in an extension or negotiating a new agreement to replace New START when it expires in 2021 would negatively impact U.S. security and negatively impact an already shaky global nuclear order,” said Kingston Reif, a member of the Arms Control Association.

Expanding the US arsenal with new or additional nuclear weapons could cost approximately $400 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Other estimates put the overall nuclear modernization closer to $1 trillion.

The New START allows the United States to keep enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet several times over. Without the New START and INF effective, America will be compelled to waste enormous military and financial resources.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

 

Marine Vet’s Tweet to Trump Goes Viral

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By Debbie Gregory.

A Marine veteran took to social media to fire back at Donald Trump’s call for American Muslims to be registered in a national database.

Marine Sgt. Tayyib Rashid’s comeback has gone viral. Rashid, whose Twitter handle is @MuslimMarine, tweeted Trump a photo of his military identification card with the message: “Hey @realDonald Trump, I’m an American and I already carry a special ID badge. Where’s yours?”

Rashid, the son of a Muslim missionary and theologian, served from 1997 to 2002 as an aircraft electronic countermeasures technician with 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, according to Marine Corps officials.

On November 19th, Trump said that he “would certainly implement” databases or increase surveillance for Muslims living in the U.S.

Rashid’s post has over 39,000 retweets and 51,000 likes. It has also prompted a barrage of follow-on social media posts under the hashtag #MuslimID from other U.S. troops, police officers, lawyers, medical professionals and students who identify as Muslim.

“I got borderline angry that [Trump] would make such a comment and try to drive a wedge between Muslims serving in the U.S. armed forces and people who aren’t Muslim,” said Rashid. “I felt the need to call him out — particularly because Trump himself has never served.”

Rashid, now 38, said that he became a Marine because he “wanted to be part of a brotherhood of men dedicated to the service of our country.”

He said that he is a proud American Muslim.

“For me there is no conflict between the two identities,” he said.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.


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