Support Our Troops: The United States Space Force Soars as our Sixth

The United States Space Force Soars as our Sixth Military Branch

By Paula Green

You may have heard recent talk in the news about Space Force. Well, what exactly is this initiative? It is a relatively new branch of the United States military. The last time we had a military service added was over 73 years when the Air Force was founded in 1947.

On June 18, 2018, President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to begin planning for a Space Force. This historic operation launched our sixth independent U.S. military service branch. Space Force was signed into law on December 20, 2019, as part of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. This new military wing is housed within the Department of the Air Force. It is responsible for an area 100 kilometers above Earth and higher. The Space Force’s task is to protect assets in orbit, such as satellites that gather intelligence, aid communications, detect missile launches, and provide GPS targeting for missiles. According to the Space Force, its official mission is “a military service that organizes, trains, and equips space forces to protect U.S. and allied interests in space” by developing military space professionals and acquiring military space systems, among other goals.

Space Force has its own chief of space operations, four-star Gen. Jay Raymond, who, like the heads of the five other military branches, is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gen. Raymond described the significance of Space Force’s military flag, “The delta in the middle, that’s the symbol that space communities use for years and years. The North Star signifies our core value, our guiding light. The orbit around the globe signifies the space cape colors that fuel our American way of life.”

The Space Force motto, Semper Supra, means “Always Above.” This adage represents Space Force’s role in establishing, maintaining, and preserving U.S. freedom of operations in the space domain. To put it another way, they are “always watching you.”

The 16,000 military personnel assigned to the Space Force are all former Air Force Space Command members. Troops in Space Force wear the Operational Camouflage Pattern, or OCP, as the normal duty uniform, the same uniform worn by the Army. Two key Air Force bases in Florida with space missions have been officially redesignated as U.S. Space Force bases. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and nearby Patrick Air Force Base are now called “Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Patrick Space Force Base.” For more information on Space Force, visit www.spaceforce.mil. n

Sources: https://www.military.com/space-force, https://www.spaceforce.mil, forbes.com/trumppresented-us-space-force-flag-promises-super-duper-missile/, corporatevalley.com, https://www. mentalfloss.com/article/633588/united-states-space-force-facts