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Credit to Author: Garrett M. Graff| Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2020 12:00:00 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n Garrett M. Graff<\/span><\/a><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n From controversy over camo print to Star Trek comparisons, the new military branch can't buy a break online.<\/p>\n All but buried in the onslaught of impeachment news and peaking tensions with Iran, Donald Trump scored one of his biggest legislative victories in the closing days of 2019: the creation of a stand-alone \u201cSpace Force,\u201d a Pentagon recognition that the atmosphere far above our heads is an increasingly challenging and hostile environment<\/a> for the military.<\/p>\n Yet even if you missed the creation of the nation\u2019s sixth military branch, it\u2019s been hard to escape the jokes and criticism that have seemed to accompany Space Force since. The only headlines Space Force has made so far have come amid jokes, memes, and controversies.<\/p>\n The creation of a new Space Force is among the most significant reorganizations of the military since the Goldwater-Nichols Act of the Reagan years, and the first addition of a new branch since the Air Force was broken out of the Army\u2019s Air Corps in 1947. It grew out of congressional frustration that the Air Force, with its pilot-driven culture, was not giving sufficient attention to securing the satellite communication networks that undergird so much of today\u2019s economy, as well as the critical positioning, navigation, and timing assistance to that military drones planes, ships, and networked vehicles increasingly rely on.<\/p>\n \u201cSpace is the world\u2019s newest war-fighting domain,\u201d President Trump declared in December as he signed the year\u2019s $738 billion defense bill that created the Space Force. \u201cAmid grave threats to our national security, American superiority in space is absolutely vital. And we\u2019re leading, but we\u2019re not leading by enough. But very shortly we\u2019ll be leading by a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Donald Trump\u2019s warm embrace of Space Force had already elevated a years-long, relatively low-level policy debate to meme status. In recent years, Space Force arguments had focused on whether it would be a full \u201cforce\u201d\u2014a standalone branch, equal to the Navy or the Army\u2014or more of a \u201cSpace Corps,\u201d akin to the Marine Corps, which is a component of the Department of the Navy, or even a \u201cSpace Guard,\u201d less a military force than one focused on freedom of navigation and access.<\/p>\n The new image appeared all too familiar to fans of Star Trek<\/em>.<\/p>\n But as early as 2018, Trump had turned \u201cSpace Force<\/a>\u201d into one of the most reliable applause lines of his stump speeches. His campaign even sold \u201cSpace Force\u201d merch<\/a>, and asked supporters to vote on potential logos. Ultimately the Pentagon and Air Force, which had long fought the idea in favor of maintaining its own Space Command, caved. What had begun as a bipartisan push<\/a> among congressional critics of the Air Force, most notably representatives Jim Cooper (D-TN) and Mike Rogers (R-AL) of the House armed services committee, had morphed by the time of Trump\u2019s bill-signing into a campaign-style GOP-only celebration<\/a>.<\/p>\n The criticism and jokes had clearly already taken a toll with the Space Force\u2019s new leadership. General John Raymond, the Air Force leader who will now head up the new Space Force, felt it necessary to tell reporters at the service\u2019s unveiling, \u201cThis is not a farce. This is nationally critical.\u201d<\/p>\n And yet the steps announced since then\u2014and the internet\u2019s response\u2014have done little to dispel public perception that the Space Force is more Austin Powers<\/em> than Rambo<\/em>.<\/p>\n First came an unexpected tweet earlier this month from the Washington National Cathedral announcing that it had christened<\/a> \u201cthe official Bible\u201d for the Space Force\u2014which it further said would be used to swear-in all the commanders of the new force. The tweet shared a picture of the Air Force\u2019s chief of chaplains alongside two Episcopal Church leaders blessing a King James Bible. Religious freedom organizations leapt to condemn<\/a> Space Force\u2019s apparent choice to make an official Bible one of the first steps of standing up the new service, particularly given the important steps the Pentagon has taken to embrace religious pluralism<\/a> in recent years. As the Anti-Defamation League said<\/a>, \u201cThe men and women of our Armed Services are a microcosm of our nation\u2019s rich diversity. An official Christian Bible for the #SpaceForce oath violates the constitutional right to exercise religious freedom that these Air Force officers swear to defend.\u201d<\/p>\n The cathedral quickly deleted the tweet, and the Space Force explained that general Raymond had never intended to swear-in all subsequent commanders with the Bible. He was, they said, simply mimicking an Air Force tradition; its first leader had been sworn in on a Bible that has been kept in the Air Force chief of staff\u2019s office ever since, and signed by each of his successors.<\/p>\n To close observers of the military, Raymond\u2019s explanation underscored one of the biggest fears about a new Space Force: That its culture would hew too closely to the Air Force out of which it grew. The Air Force has long been seen as the most<\/a> Christian<\/a> of the services; in one 2011 controversy, Air Force Academy cadets reported<\/a> that they felt that had to pretend to be fundamentalist Christians to fit in at the school.<\/p>\n Hardly a week passed before the nascent Space Force caused more internet ripples. The unveiling<\/a> of its uniform and camouflage pattern, which looked shockingly similar to the uniforms worn by soldiers and personnel operating on Earth, quickly sent #SpaceForce trending on Twitter. Replies to the tweet quickly filled up with jokes and GIFs mocking how the uniforms wouldn\u2019t help Space Force do battle in outer space.<\/p>\n And then of course came the more existential question: Why did Space Force need a camouflage pattern at all, since none of its personnel would ever actually be fighting out beyond the mesosphere?<\/p>\n By <\/span>Garrett M. Graff<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n In fact, the Space Force\u2019s choice to use a variation<\/a> of an Army and Air Force camouflage pattern is a sign of common sense. The internal politics<\/a> of military camouflage can seem staggering, as can the cost. And while Space Force might invoke Moonraker<\/em>-like astronauts with laser guns<\/a> in the popular imagination, in practice it will effectively be young computer wizards sitting in windowless rooms in Colorado Springs<\/a> and southern California<\/a>. Making only small tweaks to existing camouflage\u2014Space Force sews its nameplates in dark blue, rather than the black and \u201cspice brown\u201d used by the Army and Air Force, respectively\u2014is both practical and economical.<\/p>\n Yet even before the controversy over the uniforms died down, Space Force was back to trending\u2014and being mocked anew. Most recently, on Friday, as House managers wrapped up their opening statements in his impeachment trial, President Trump tweeted<\/a> out the new Space Force logo. \u201cAfter consultation with our Great Military Leaders, designers, and others, I am pleased to present the new logo for the United States Space Force, the Sixth Branch of our Magnificent Military,\u201d the president tweeted.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/1220821545746141187<\/a><\/p>\n The new image appeared all too familiar to fans of Star Trek<\/em>, who saw a near-exact copy of the Starfleet logo, right down to the single spaceship, orbit path, and star constellation dazzling the logo\u2019s background. Star Trek<\/em>\u2019s George Takei, who had also joked<\/a> online about the uniforms, tweeted<\/a>, \u201cAhem. We are expecting some royalties from this.\u201d<\/p>\n Air Force personnel pointed out that the logo appears to be an evolution of that long used by Air Force Space Command<\/a>. Both clearly invoke the Star Trek<\/em> logo. And yet the new patch moves markedly closer to that apparent inspiration\u2014which, as internet critics noted, was meant to represent peaceful exploration of outer space.<\/p>\n Ultimately how many people wind up wearing those uniforms and that logo remains an open question, as the size of the Space Force is still very much up in the air. (Pun intended.) Currently, the Air Force\u2019s Space Command comprises about 16,000 personnel, and Pentagon officials have said that they anticipate about 5,000 to 6,000 of those will transfer to the new service initially. Over time, the Pentagon expects other units\u2014not all of them from the Air Force Space Command\u2014might transfer as well, ultimately creating a force of about 15,000, which would be by far the smallest military branch. By comparison, the Coast Guard, technically part of the Department of Homeland Security, is about 40,000 personnel. The Marine Corps, the smallest branch until now, is about 180,000.<\/p>\n NASA, the civilian space agency, will remain separate and focused on non-military missions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Space Force won't be measured by the number of people, unlike for instance the Marine Corps, which is really a labor-intensive service,\u201d Air Force secretary Barbara Barrett, who will oversee the Space Force, told reporters as the service started. \u201cSpace Force is much more measured by the technology and the capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n Its budget reflects its relatively small size, at $40 million for this current fiscal year. That\u2019s barely more than the cost of a single Air Force fighter.<\/p>\n As general Raymond has already said, Space Force still has yet to determine<\/a> such service cornerstones as its official song, its dress uniform, and even its rank structure. If this month is any indication, the internet will have plenty to say about its next announcement.<\/p>\n Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg<\/a>) is a contributing editor for WIRED and the co-author of <\/a>THE DAWN OF THE CODE WAR: America's Battle Against Russia, China, and the Rising Global Cyber Threat<\/a>. His latest book<\/em>, THE ONLY PLANE IN THE SKY: An Oral History of 9\/11<\/a>, was published in September. He can be reached at garrett.graff@gmail.com.<\/em><\/p>\n