# Space Force! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 21, 2019, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176 "2019-12-21T09:13:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/21 "2019-12-22T14:10:04Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You’re all ignoring the most important question: what are the uniforms going to look like? Onesies. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/22 "2019-12-22T14:17:33Z")
Minor gripe: “Space Force” is clunky to pronounce. The two “S” sounds in quick succession. Space Command would have been easier, and sounded cooler. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/23 "2019-12-22T14:57:36Z")
I would sure prefer efforts at multinational cooperation, instead of seemingly encouraging a race to (increasingly?) weaponize space - as well as spending countless $$$ while doing so. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/24 "2019-12-22T15:15:12Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You’re all ignoring the most important question: what are the uniforms going to look like? “One thing I learned from TV, in the future, we’re all going to be dressed alike. Silver boots, silver jumpsuit, big white diagonal stripe…” (Seinfeld, paraphrased) I’m thinking of repurposing an old uniform as a Space Force one. Mine is going to have patches… lots of patches. Kessel Run, Brandenburg Gate, Adama Maneuver: New Caprica, Battle of Serenity Valley, I Hacked the Kobayashi Maru… ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/25 "2019-12-22T15:31:36Z")
I do wonder what kinds of awards and decorations the “Space Force” will be authorized to wear. Seems like it would be kinda hard to come up with pretexts. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/26 "2019-12-22T16:56:46Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Sigh…just let the Air Force do it all. Um… there’s no air in space. How are they gonna breath? D’uh. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/27 "2019-12-22T17:23:10Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Now there’s talk of a Cyber Force being the next service. Another awful idea. > > I really hope Space Force can be rolled back in the next few years. That’s basically what the Russians did with their Space Force. Twice. > **[Russian Space Forces | History](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Space_Forces#History)** > > The Soviet Space Troops date back to February 12, 1955, when the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union issued a joint executive order for the establishment of Scientific Research and Testing Range for the development of space exploration technology, codenamed Tayga Installation (Обект «Тайга»). The range was formally established on June 2, 1955, on Plot 10 - Zarya in Kyzylorda Region of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic Fr... ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/28 "2019-12-22T18:48:22Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I’m thinking of repurposing an old uniform as a Space Force one. Mine is going to have patches… lots of patches. Kessel Run, Brandenburg Gate, Adama Maneuver: New Caprica, Battle of Serenity Valley, I Hacked the Kobayashi Maru… Ahem. I think you mean _Tannhäuser_ Gate. Obviously a case of stolen valor! (Also: Scarif, Yavin, Hoth, and Endor; Klendathu; Wolf 359…) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/29 "2019-12-22T20:09:47Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I’m thinking of repurposing an old uniform as a Space Force one. Mine is going to have patches… lots of patches. Kessel Run, Brandenburg Gate, Adama Maneuver: New Caprica, Battle of Serenity Valley, I Hacked the Kobayashi Maru… Gold Medal from the Prometheus School of Running Away from Things. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/30 "2019-12-23T14:16:20Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Um… there’s no air in space. How are they gonna breath? D’uh. There’s an Air 'n Space Museum. I’m fairly certain that the President actually thinks that there are going to be Space Force personnel flying around in space, shooting at stuff. It’s one of the things I laugh at a friend of mine about, who is an Army Space Officer (other than the fact that he is an Army Space Officer). He is happy because funding lines become less restrictive with the new Space Force, and capabilities can be procured faster. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/31 "2019-12-23T14:20:06Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Such an absurd idea. Independent estimates show that for a Space Force of approx 20,000 people, who are currently doing the same work that they will under the Space Force, it will need to add about 5,000 new bureaucrats to manage the people already doing the things they are doing. This will cost an extra billion dollars a year. > > [https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2019-05/55178-SpaceForce.pdf](https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2019-05/55178-SpaceForce.pdf) > > The vast number of these people work on developing communications satellites, GPS satellites, related technologies, and the rockets to launch them. A much fewer number are assigned to operate those satellites. I think a lot of people are under the impression that Space Force personnel may some day go into space to fight a war. Nope. They are almost all going to sit in office chairs. > > Can’t wait to see how many new military bands are needed for this dumb idea from a dumb person. Couldn’t people have made the same (lame) argument against spinning off the Army Air Corps into a separate Air Force? There are 4 domains: land, sea, air, space. You cannot equate air and space. They are totally different realms with different rules governing movement within. It is totally logical to have space handled by a separate entity. Although NASA has had military overlap, it should be construed as a non-military organization for the exploration of space. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/32 "2019-12-23T14:32:12Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > There are 4 domains: land, sea, air, space. You cannot equate air and space. They are totally different realms with different rules governing movement within. It is totally logical to have space handled by a separate entity. Although NASA has had military overlap, it should be construed as a non-military organization for the exploration of space. There are actually 5 domains - land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. You recommend a separate Cyber Force too? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/33 "2019-12-23T16:37:09Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > He is happy because funding lines become less restrictive with the new Space Force, and capabilities can be procured faster. This isn’t true. Space Force doesn’t yet have any funding beyond a handful of civilian personnel. Space Force will have its own acquisition department, separate from the Air Force, but here is the catch: the same several thousands of people doing space acquisition for the Air Force will simply be declared to be Space Force acquisition people. All we can expect is that Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center in LA will have a new placard in front of it. And, SMC doesn’t really have a great acquisition track record… so yeah, don’t expect anything to change in the near term. > [@BwanaBob](#): > > Couldn’t people have made the same (lame) argument against spinning off the Army Air Corps into a separate Air Force? > > There are 4 domains: land, sea, air, space. You cannot equate air and space. They are totally different realms with different rules governing movement within. It is totally logical to have space handled by a separate entity. Although NASA has had military overlap, it should be construed as a non-military organization for the exploration of space. I can’t remember the exact number, but when the Air Force was created, there were something like 1.5 million personnel involved. The Space Force is closer in size to the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps than it is the Coast Guard. Spending on military IT is around three times greater than spending on space… but nobody is proposing that IT is too unwieldy to spread across the services, therefore we need new generals and sergeants to deal with it! The idea that military services are neatly aligned around domains is facile. The Army has more ships than the Navy.the Navy’s army has its own air force. The Army probably has more flying machines than the Air Force. The fact is that cyber and space are not a separate place, like how the air and the sea are physically distinct even though military operations may sometimes transcend that separation. The space and cyber domain transcend all domains, so we should think of it differently, and approach it by integrating military operations at the combatant command levels, as opposed to a bureaucratic stovepipe to manage the recruiting, training, and equipping of troops. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/34 "2019-12-23T16:42:27Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > This isn’t true. Space Force doesn’t yet have any funding beyond a handful of civilian personnel. Space Force will have its own acquisition department, separate from the Air Force, but here is the catch: the same several thousands of people doing space acquisition for the Air Force will simply be declared to be Space Force acquisition people. All we can expect is that Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center in LA will have a new placard in front of it. And, SMC doesn’t really have a great acquisition track record… so yeah, don’t expect anything to change in the near term Not yet it doesn’t. But it will. Besides, I think this is a stupid idea. And I stand by my statement that the President only wants it because he honestly believes we’ll have Space Force people flying around space and to the moon and whatever. He probably saw “The Expanse” and thinks it will be like that. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/35 "2019-12-23T16:55:02Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > There are actually 5 domains - land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. > > You recommend a separate Cyber Force too? The creation of entirely new bureaucracies would be consistent with past efforts by purported conservatives to reduce spending… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/36 "2019-12-23T16:57:25Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > The creation of entirely new bureaucracies would be consistent with past efforts by purported conservatives to reduce spending… :rolleyes: Hmmmm…you may be correct. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/37 "2019-12-23T17:11:18Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Not yet it doesn’t. But it will. I don’t understand what “it” is in your post. You quoted a paragraph and I’m not sure what part you are referring to. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/38 "2019-12-23T19:11:05Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > There are actually 5 domains - land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. > > You recommend a separate Cyber Force too? Now that you mention it, I believe that falls under the NSA or maybe the FBI. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/39 "2019-12-23T19:33:20Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I don’t understand what “it” is in your post. You quoted a paragraph and I’m not sure what part you are referring to. Sorry, I meant have more funding than a few civilian personnel. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176/40 "2019-12-23T19:34:53Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Now that you mention it, I believe that falls under the NSA or maybe the FBI. Not necessarily, but unfortunately, I cannot discuss this particular part of cyberspace forces. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force/845176.md?page=3)