President Donald Trump has been holding a series of rallies across the nation, which are designed to promote the candidacy of supporters and to elect more Republicans so he can get more of his agenda items through Congress.
One intriguing aspect of those rallies is the obvious support for the US Space Force that is evident in the crowds.
There are many powerful arguments in favor of supporting the creation of this 6th branch of the military. One of them is that space-related capabilities are now spread throughout several other branches, and the consolidation would increase their readiness and effectiveness.
Doug Loverro, a former DoD Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, noted that fighting in space is different than fighting anywhere else, in the same way that the Navy prepares for unique combat at sea. “We lack that focus for space, one of our five main warfighting domains,” he said.Loverro joked that people have been blaming him for Trump’s endorsement of a new service. “I’m ready to rip the band aid off,” he said. Yet even he concedes a new service may not be needed. “We don’t need to move it from the USAF to create the space smart-force we need,” he said.What the military does need, he said, is to create career paths for people who specialize in space. To stay ahead over the next half-century, the United States needs to “grow the space leaders.” He compared the foundation of the U.S. Air Force, which guaranteed the expertise in personnel, led to the United States’ dominance in the air. “The same will be true for space,” he said.
In related news, the US Army has identified its members that would be the most likely Space Force service personnel.
More than 70 percent of the Army’s major weapons and equipment need satellites to function. About 2,220 active-duty soldiers, reservists and civilians make up the “space forces” under the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command headquartered at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.“We are the biggest users of space,” said Brig. Gen. Tim Lawson, deputy commanding general for operations at the Army Space and Missile Defense Command….“Do we want to be part of the Space Force? That is yet to be determined,” Lawson said. “I think there’s a lot more to come, and the Army is part of this planning process.”
Besides a more effective defense force, another benefit is economic. Morgan Stanley has crunched the numbers and reports that the move could fuel a new $1 trillion economy.
In a note to clients Friday, the bank doubled down on its intergalactic thesis from last October, saying the Space Force “could address critical vulnerabilities in national security, raising investor awareness in the formation of what we see as the next trillion-dollar economy.”Morgan Stanley has already identified 20 stocks staking their place in the space race, and says it’s monitoring 100 other private companies across sectors including satellite internet, rockets, space tourism, and asteroid mining as the push to pioneer this new frontier heats up.”Our conversations with various actors (current and retired) in the US government, military, and intelligence communities overwhelmingly indicate that space is an area where we will see significant development,” a team of analysts led by Adam Jonas, the bank’s autos analyst, wrote in Friday’s note. “This development could enhance US technological leadership and address vulnerabilities in surveillance, mission deployment, cyber, and AI.”
Finally, the US Space Force would be focused on identifying and targeting new, space-based threats.
…[B]ecause the satellites have become integral to how America conducts military operations on Earth, Russia and China are developing ways of degrading or destroying U.S. satellites in wartime. If such attacks achieved their intended aims, they would thoroughly disrupt the U.S. military’s ability to conduct war anywhere. For instance, the U.S. Army figures each of its armored brigades contains over 2,000 pieces of equipment that rely on space assets to function. Kill the satellites, and the brigades are hobbled.
The US Space Force could also fight real climate change….by defending the Earth from killer asteroids.
…[I]t stands to reason that any national concerted effort to defend Earth from an incoming asteroid would involve at least some military assets in space for asteroid tracking or deflection. And if a Space Force is in service at that time, it’s likely to play a role — after all, the Air Force already works hard to maintain space situational awareness of objects orbiting Earth.
Looking at the data, there is certainly much to be excited about! Vive la US Space Force!
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