The Trump administration has drawn criticism on many issues. But Americans who believe in a bold future should be able to get behind his proposed creation of a space-based branch of the U.S. military, the so-called “U.S. Space Force.”
All but the most shortsighted expect that the future of humanity is in the stars, and the United States of America must secure its place as a leader for the long-term in this area if we are to maintain our position at the forefront among the nations of the world. Vice President Mike Pence is taking an instrumental role in trying to help make this vision a reality, while at the same time drawing considerable opposition primarily from Democrats regarding his persistent advocating of this position.
The cost of establishing this new branch of the armed forces is estimated at $13 billion over the next five years. Considering the massive $21.6 trillion dollar federal deficit, this is a small price to pay for laying the framework for a branch that will be absolutely critical in the future.
Despite the relatively modest cost by government standards, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., who will likely become chairman of the House Armed Services Committee in January, has said this number is too high. “This is an initial estimate,” he said, “but it suggests just how costly President Trump’s plan for a separate ‘Space Force’ would be, that is a major reason why I am opposed to his request.”
When the administration announced its plan to begin this process by 2020, Pence spoke of the threats posed by space-based intelligence, communications, and positioning abilities. Despite this, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who serves on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, showed he does not understand that space is literally too big to neatly squish under the umbrella of other branches. He commented on this matter by saying: “This is not a one-service dimension, and I think creating a separate service would just add bureaucracy without effect. What we have to do is unify our current efforts. One of the good models for this is a Joint Special Operations Command, which is multiple services — SEALs, Rangers, Green Berets, Air Force, special operators — they operate very unified, but there’s no new service with all the paraphernalia and bureaucracy of a new service. That’s the direction we should head.”
Aside from the need for the American government to help set a course for building a successful future in space, there is also the very real danger of potential adversaries gaining an enormous advantage over the U.S. in this final frontier if we do not properly prepare.
Russia and China have also discussed the very real possibility that they will cooperate on building a permanent base on the moon together. Dmitry Rogozin, a former deputy defense minister, and the director general of Russia’s Roscosmos state space corporation, have clearly spotted an opportunity for Russia and China to work together towards in space, to their mutual benefit and probably our disadvantage.
Just last month Russia held joint military exercises with China, showing an increasing desire for cooperation among two nations which previously had something more akin to a rivalry. These massive exercises featured 300,000 Russian troops, a third of their armed forces, along with 1,000 aircraft, 36,000 tanks and armored vehicles. While only 3,200 Chinese troops and 900 tanks and armored vehicles were involved on their side, this is an unprecedented cohesive event which had not previously occurred.
Russia and China are likely to share the distinction of being both the two most significant competitors in space, and also potential military threats. During his August 2018 speech on the subject, Pence spoke about Chinese investment in hypersonic missiles capable of going undetected by the US, while importantly nothing that both China and Russia had integrated anti-satellite attacks as part of their wartime protocol. An effective space-based assault on our satellite network would cripple everything from weather forecasting to obtaining images for intelligence, and being able to use GPS to accurately direct missiles.
A reality where Russia and China claim permanent residency on the moon before the U.S. does is likely not to be one where we will remain the unquestioned sole superpower. Right now, we may have plans to return to the moon in some less-than-permanent fashion, and to hopefully get to Mars in some form within the next two decades. But we lack a cohesive vision for how we will extend American exceptionalism to the cosmos. If we as a nation fail to step up to this challenge, others surely will in our stead. A sixth branch of our armed forces dedicated solely to space without distraction is the only way we can rest easy in knowing that our national destiny and national security will shine brightly for a long time to come, both on earth and beyond.
A.J. Bruno is a conservative political consultant, writer, podcast host, and activist. He served as New Hampshire State Director for Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign.
