Wikipedia

United States Space Force

space warfare branch of the United States Armed Forces
(Redirected from US Space Force)

The United States Space Force (USSF) is a part of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is focused on war in space. It is the sixth branch of the U.S. military.

United States Space Force
Seal of the United States Space Force
Founded20 December 2019; 4 years ago (2019-12-20) (as an independent service)
1 September 1982 (42 years, 2 months as Air Force Space Command)[1]
Country United States
TypeSpace force
RoleSpace warfare
Size16,000 assigned[2]
Part of Department of the Air Force
HeadquartersThe Pentagon
Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.[3]
Anniversaries20 December
Websitewww.spaceforce.mil
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief President Joe Biden
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall
Chief of Space Operations General B. Chance Saltzman
A Space Force general's ACU uniform, in OCP camouflage.

It is a part of the Department of the Air Force, one of the three parts of the Department of Defense. Because of this, the Space Force is led by the Secretary of the Air Force, who is under the Secretary of Defense. The leader of the Space Force is called the Chief of Space Operations.

History

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On June 18, 2018, President Donald Trump announced in an address to the National Space Council a directive that requests the creation of a sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces.[5]

The president announced his intention for The Pentagon to create the 'Space Force' as an independent service branch, separate from the United States Air Force.[6] Many US Senators stated they would rather create a Space Corps inside the Air Force.[7] The Air Force has had a "Space Command" since September 1, 1982.[8]

Vice President Mike Pence in August 2018 announced a plan that would create the Space Force by 2020.[9]

General John W. Raymond was nominated to be commander of Space Command in April 2019, and his nomination was heard in the United States Senate in June 2019. He was previously head of U.S. Air Force Space Command.[10][11] Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett approved the moving of part of the Air Force to the Space Force and making it the Space Operations Command.

On 20 December 2019, the Space Force became the sixth armed service branch. General Raymond became the first Chief of Space Operations.[12] This happened on 20 December 2019.[13]

Functions and duties

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Functions

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The United States Space Force Act says that it will exist to make sure that the United States can operate freely in space. It ensures that they can conduct military actions in space quickly and for a long time.[14]

Duties

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Its duties are to protect the interests of the United States in space. It also prevents attacks on the United States in and from space, and to generally operate in space.[14]

Organization

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The Space Force is one of two equal parts of the Department of the Air Force. The other one is the United States Air Force. Both are run by the Secretary of the Air Force.[15]

The leader of the Space Force is the Chief of Space Operations (CSO), who is a general. The Chief of Space Operations became a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in December 2020,one year after the Space Force Act was passed.[15]

About 16,000 Air Force members were intended to become part of the Space Force while the branch became part of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is making its own way of training members, and will create uniforms, ranks, logo, patch, awards, and an official song. This was supposed to happen within 18 months after the Space Force became independent.[16]

Structure

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Space Operations Command (SPOC), Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

  Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), Los Angeles Air Force Base, California

References

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  1. ↑ "U.S. Space Force Fact Sheet". Spaceforce.mil. United States Space Force. December 20, 2019. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  2. ↑ "What's the Space Force". spaceforce.mil.
  3. ↑ "Fact Sheet". spaceforce.mil. Archived from the original on 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  4. ↑ "U.S Space Force Facebook Page". Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Trump orders establishment of 'space force' as 6th branch of military"". Fox News. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "The Latest: Trump tells Pentagon to create "Space Force"". abcnews.go.com. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  7. ↑ "Pence details plan for creation of Space Force in what would be the sixth branch of the military". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-12.
  8. ↑ "AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND HERITAGE". Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  9. ↑ Clark, Dartunorro (2018-08-09). "Pence launches Space Force, says U.S. needs to prepare for 'next battlefield' "As President Trump has said, in his words, it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space — we must have American dominance in space," Pence said at the Pentagon Thursday". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
  10. ↑ "Raymond". United States Commitee on Armed Services. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  11. ↑ Insinna, Valerie (2019-03-26). "Air Force's top space officer tapped to lead US Space Command". Defense News. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  12. ↑ CNN, Ryan Browne (December 20, 2019). "With a signature, Trump brings Space Force into being". CNN. Retrieved January 21, 2020. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  13. ↑ "14th Air Force now designated as U.S. Space Operations Command". UPI. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020" (PDF). United States House of Representatives. December 2019.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 U.S. Department of Defense (February 2019). "United States Space Force Strategic Overview" (PDF). defense.gov. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  16. ↑ "The Space Force is officially the sixth military branch. Here's what that means". Air Force Times. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.

Other websites

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