The United States Air Force (pictured above) would oversee “Space Force” in its early stages before it becomes an independent branch. Many of its members disapprove of the formation of a sixth wing of the military, according to USA Today (Yuxuan Wang/Creative commons).
On Aug. 29 President Donald Trump authorized an 11th combatant command of the military, known as Space Command, to be instated, according to The New York Times. This will be followed by the creation of a sixth military branch, known as Space Force.
The idea of a military presence in space isn’t unprecedented. Back in the 1980s, Reagan created a similar force, which was disbanded after 9/11 when terrorism became a more pressing concern. Now, between Russian, China and other interests, it has become apparent that a “Space Force” is needed in our modern climate.
But is now the best time? Between regular mass shootings, a decline in funding for the public arts and with a recession on the rise, a Space Force seems to have eerie timing. Almost like bread and circuses, this sensationalizing of a huge military move—becoming, in Trump’s own words, the “dominant” power in space—is an expensive, overrated and poorly timed unilateral move. Trump and others treat it as such a “headline” that there’s even a Netflix workplace comedy being produced by Steve Carell about the creation of a “Space Force,” as reported in The Hollywood Reporter.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is vocal about the belief that the Space Force should move aggressively to protect American interests, building military bases on the moon before global competitors can do so. At a rally, Trump discussed the idea of working with people such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who he referred to as “rich guys sending up rockets.”
It’s evident that those billionaires are who Trump is trying to emulate and out-do. The branding and publicity of this move is cheap and gives more credence to a Space Force brought about by Trump’s offhand comments and ideas rather than a true need for one.
Any American can agree that international threats, including cyber-attacks and missile strikes, are a huge issue that needs to be dealt with. Perhaps a Space Force is the way to go to solve those problems; after all, there is an existing precedent.
The creation of a sixth military branch, however, seems hapless at best. Trump’s needless obsession to make “Space Force” its own branch, rather than splitting its tasks into separate divisions as it currently does, will create unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy. Not to mention, costs will increase on top of the already allocated Department of Defense funds. Space Force is estimated to cost about $2 billion initially, with an additional $500 million every year, according to Defense News. Meanwhile, as reported by The Atlantic, the Trump administration’s 2020 budget proposes a $7.1 billion cut on education.
How does it make sense to take money away from education, when the number of librarians, arts programs and more dwindles with every budget cut? Is that an America we want to live in? One where we spend more of government and taxpayer funds in order to create a military branch that will look good to a Fox News pundit?
When talking about Space Command, Trump has said it will “boldly deter aggression,” and is the “ultimate high ground,” according to CNET. While it may sound impressive to claim the ultimate high ground or boldly deter aggression, I think we can all agree that we’ve come a far way since boldly going where no man has gone before.
Again, there are international threats. There are cyber threats. There are terror threats, but from the information given by the Department of Homeland Security, DoD’s unclassified projects in space and the Air Force, much of what Space Force proposes to do is already being done within existing branches. We need to ask ourselves if this is the best way to spend our money, especially in the face of a decaying economy, brought about by trade wars and rampant trickle-down economics.
Maria Pawlak is a an English and political science major freshman who would probably love to discuss Star Wars theories with you.