Now Space Force Wants Its Own Starfleet Admirals
Space Admiral? House Lawmakers Want Navy Ranks for Space Force, Military.com
“House lawmakers have signed off on a proposal calling for the military’s sixth branch to adopt the Navy’s ranks and structure. The amendment to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, proposed by Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, would require the Space Force to use “the same system and rank structure as is used in the Navy,” according to a summary of the text. Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, medically retired as a lieutenant commander. … A naval command structure would align with strategic similarities space operations have to laws of the sea, Lt. Col. Peter Garretson, then-deputy director of the Schriever Scholars program at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, said in an interview last year. He has since retired. “In maritime theory, navies exist in order to secure commerce,” he said.”
Keith’s note: These Space Force guys are not wasting any time trying to create StarFleet – especially when it comes to the uniforms and the ranks and all that. Other than that what has “Space Force” actually done? It slaps its logo on missions and organizations that already existed and spends lots of money on Facebook ads. Other than that Team Space Force seems to be all about projecting the image of Space Force – rather than actually creating a Space Force. Alas, they are better at that than NASA is – so maybe they could teach NASA how to do some better branding and marketing.
Wow. The @SpaceForceDoD is really rolling out their new clothing line. They just announced the #SpaceForce uniforms to be used on #Hoth class worlds. #StarWars @SecAFOfficial @SpaceForceCSO
@US_SpaceCom pic.twitter.com/qRfVVQuqtp— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) January 18, 2020
– Space Force Really Wants To Take Over All Of NASA’s Stuff, earlier post
– TV’s Space Force Looks Like More Fun Than The Real One (Or Artemis), earlier post
– Space Force Official Flag Presented To The President On Friday Because Of Course It Was, earlier post
– Space Force Has The Air Force Academy. Why Doesn’t NASA Have A Space Academy?, earlier post
– Space Force Really Wants To Be Star Fleet, earlier post
– More Space Force postings
They need to start lobbying for their own space planes and spaceships.
Elon Musk is working on them in Boca Chica…
Live long and prosper!
What an egregious waste of taxpayer money.
You won’t be saying that when your mobile phones and bank account stops working because some terrorist group took down the space assets they depend on….
I thought returning Space Command to unified status was a reasonable compromise. Creating a new service because USAF is supposedly dominated by fighter pilots seems absurd. USAF has more drones than it does manned combat aircraft and mission effectiveness depends on the US military operating as a single entity. Another provincial service will only increase cost and fragmentation and reduce efficiency.
“Creating a new service because USAF is supposedly dominated by fighter pilots seems absurd”
I am not so sure about that. Years ago I worked with many young AF officers in the space operation squadrons. At the time, several of them were to be transferred to ICBM squadrons. Why? Because some high up AF general in the Pentagon arbitrarily “reasoned” that space involved rockets and ICBM were rockets, so the positions were interchangeable. After spending years training for space operations, these young officers were understandably not happy.
Creating a new service is requiring because space is its own warfighting domain, which requires a Title 10 armed service to equip, train and develop doctrine for (because y’know, space is exactly like air).
But you knew that already.
I keep saying, you got the vowel wrong the “o” (as in Force) should have been an “a” …
NASA already uses the term “commander”, so it makes sense.
The Army and Air Force have a rank called “Captain.” It’s very different from the term “captain” as used by the Navy. So the use of terms which sound the same doesn’t make them the same. The roles, responsibilities and places in the chain of command are more than a bit different in the Navy, Army and Air Force. The Space Force inherited the Air Force structure, so I’m not sure if suddenly making them shift to the Navy way of doing things is a good idea.
Perhaps, but it might be worth it to give them a more independent mindset. Remember the U.S.A.F. established it’s independent mindset thanks to World War II and its 1920’s and 1930’s battles with the leadership in the U.S. Army. I don’t believe any U.S.A.F. officers were court martial like General Mitchell was for speaking out for “space power”. The key will be what the leadership of the U.S.S.F. see is best for their service especially if it evolves along the lines of the U.S.C.G. to support commercial HSF space needs.
Well, at least they’re really cool Facebook ads…
From the spaceforce.mil site…
“Jul 16, 2020
Space Force selects 2.4K space operators for transfer beginning Sept. 1
Following the May application window for active-duty Airmen ….”
Are there no soldiers, sailors, or marines with space operations specialties, just comping at the bit to transfer to Space Force?
They are doing one service at a time and since the U.S.A.F. has most of the trained personnel and most of the assets of the U.S.S.F are being transferred from the U.S.A.F. it is logical to start with U.S.A.F. personnel.
That would make sense.
Does anyone have data on how many Army/Navy/Marine uniformed personnel are in a space-related specialty?
The Army seems to have the most after the Air Force, and Army Lt. Gen. James Dickinson was just nominated as the commander of US Space Command as of the end of the year.
https://spacenews.com/senat…
Yes, the Army has about three brigade’s worth. Much smaller numbers in the USN/USMC.
Since operations are likely to have more in common with maritime operations than air operations that would be a good way to create the proper mindset.
It might create the proper mindset, but I think it could also produce a lot of confusion as well. The Space Force inherited almost everything from the Air Force. The units transferred to Space Force are primarily Air Force, their academy is at Colorado Springs not Annapolis, etc. So the Space Force inherited a organizational structure, rank system, etc. which is basically Air Force (and therefore originally Army.) If they change that to a Navy system, it’s going to change everything from lines of command to the org charts to the criteria for promotion. (Do you have to serve as the commander of a warship before you can become a Space Force admiral? You do to become a Navy admiral.) The Space Force mission may be more in line with the Navy’s mission, so ultimately this might be a good idea. But in the short term, I can see this causing a huge amount of organizational confusion, with all the costs and delays that implies.
The longer the change is delayed, the more confusion will be lived through, for whatever time that happens. The key is to *separate* from the AF and its priorities enough to allow concentration on the interservice needs of *all* Services. It has been noted in debates about the USSF that the first problem MilSpace encounters is that the Air Staff’s priorities are far too parochial to the AF!
That’s fine, but separating the Space Force from the Air Force is different from drastically reorganizing it. Even after all these years, the Air Force still has organizational, structural and training practices which are similar to the Army. Because they were once a part of the Army and created as a organization based on Army practices. The Navy does, and has always done, things in different ways. Making the Space Force independent of the Air Force may be a good idea (and I think it is). But making it shift from the Army/Air Force way of handling the chain of command, training and promotions, etc. to the very different Navy way of doing those things? I don’t see the point and I think it would just add work and confusion to getting the Space Force up on its feet.
You don’t have to command a warship to be promoted to flag rank in the Public Health Service.
Sure. But is the Public Health Service’s organization, chain of command and rules for promotion based on those of the US Navy? I thought the Public Health Service was mostly a civil service organization under the Department of Health and Human Services. With, of course the exception of the Commissioned Corps (formally a uniformed service but still under Health and Human Services), but I thought they were organized more-or-less along Army practices (to some extent, at least.) Since PHS doesn’t have warships, of course commanding one isn’t a criteria for promotion. But in the Navy, it is, and we’re talking about applying Navy practices to the Space Force.
True, but those issues are not that difficult to address, it’s part of the reason you have procedures manuals and something that will be covered during training. The U.S.M.C. has a different rank and promotion system than the U.S.N. but it’s officers attend the same academy so that wouldn’t be an issue. The key will be if it will help create a separate tradition and culture for the U.S.S.F. in how they approach their job. Another plus is that it could make it harder for a future Administration/Congress to fold them back into the U.S.A.F. by highlighting their differences.
I have to agree, so long as the Space Force is joined at the hip with the Air Force and we don’t have Destroyers, Cruisers, etc.
Not only that, but the only meaningful Science Fiction analog is Stargate, and that would just make things too difficult to keep straight. 😉
Has there been any informed discussion of the Space Force’s prospects if President Trump is not reelected?
Not beyond the usual sneers that all projects associated with Trump must die to wipe anything he did from the Earth. Those usually forget it was brought to him by House members Cooper(D) and Rogers(R). The real key will be when we know who Biden’s VP will be, and thus his successor.
What is still not accepted is that, at the latest, Trump is no longer C-in-C on the 20th of January 2025. Then others can take credit for the *other* 99% of its history.
The common misconception is that this originated from Trump, just because he was a loudmouth about it. It isn’t. It came from Congress.
Misleading headline. The USSF rank and file isn’t that enthused about it. Congress wanted it, and it took them by surprise.
This started as a political act and continues to be political theater. The Air Force has done a fine job of managing our military operations in space and fought this initially tooth-and-nail; then the political push came and they were forced to implement this split.
Now the ex-Navy guy sees an opportunity to get a bit of a splash of publicity (setting aside the absurdity of such a decision being forced through the Congress as an appropriations bill amendment) by going full Star Trek.
Meanwhile, there is a new military service to dump money into.
Wait until they get started with the uniforms discussion.