President Trump on Tuesday said he was considering adding a sixth branch to the U.S. Armed Forces that would specialize in military action in space: the Space Force.
“You will be part of the five proud branches of the United States Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and the Coast Guard. And we’re actually thinking of a sixth, and that would be the Space Force,” Trump said when presented the Commander in Chief Trophy to the U.S. Military Academy football team in the Rose Garden.
In March, Trump first mentioned adding the branch, and has said it would specialize in addressing military, and other security threats, in space.
“Does that make sense? The Space Force. You probably haven’t even heard that, I’m just telling you now because we’re getting very big in space, both militarily and for other reasons. And we are seriously thinking of the Space Force,” Trump said Tuesday.
The Air Force, which holds primary responsibility for military space activities, has fought efforts in Congress to create a separate branch focusing on space, saying it would create unnecessary bureaucracy. But advocates say a separate branch is needed to focus on new technologies and threats in space.
Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan plans to complete a study in June that looks at military operations in space and whether a separate service is necessary. He told reporters last week that he aims to send the review to lawmakers in August.
