U.S. 'Space Force': Trump Orders Pentagon to Establish Sixth Military Branch
Donald Trump has set the nation's sight on reclaiming its leadership in space, and judging by his latest statement, it won't be through the NASA. On Monday, June 18, Trump has directed the Pentagon to immediately create a "Space Force" as a new military service branch.
According to Trump, he does not want "China and Russia and other countries leading us" when it comes to mankind's last frontier. To that end, he has shared his vision for an active future for the U.S. space program, one that will send Americans back to the moon, and in time, even in a manned mission to Mars.
"My administration is reclaiming America's heritage as the world's greatest spacefaring nation," Trump said in his latest pronouncement, as he addressed the media and members of his space council via NBC News.
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"The essence of the American character is to explore new horizons and to tame new frontiers," he affirmed. The way to do that, according to the President, as it turned out, will be by establishing a new military unit that will have units equivalent to existing services within the Air Force, Army and Navy.
Once established, the new "Space Force" will be the sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces, and its development will be overseen by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford.
President Trump has earlier described space not just as the vast unknown, but also as "a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air, and sea" back in March, according to CNBC News.
"Our destiny beyond the Earth is not only a matter of national identity but a matter of national security," Trump stated in his declaration on Monday. The new "Space Force," once it gets enacted, will be the first service branch to be added to the U.S. military in 71 years after the U.S. Air Force, which was established just after World War II.
