RIP Independent Space Force, 2018-2018

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https://www.defenseone.com/politics/...-force/153119/

White House Seeks Alternatives to Independent Space Force

For months, Pentagon officials have been rushing to prepare plans for an
independent Space Force, a sixth branch of the military ordered up by President
Trump. But since Oct. 26, they have been marching to new White House orders: go
back and look at different ways to reorganize the military’s space operations.

One of the four new options is an old one, defense officials said: a space corps
that would be part of the Air Force, the way the Marine Corps is part of the
Department of the Navy. The proposed structure is similar to a bipartisan
proposal that passed in the House but failed in the Senate last year.

Why the second thoughts? The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity,
suggested that some in the Trump administration fear that the proposed
independent Space Force might not make it through Congress.

A former senior defense official said Pentagon officials would be more
comfortable with a space corps within the Air Force, but feel Trump’s comments
that he wants a “separate but equal” space force have given them little wiggle
room.

The four options, according to one of the officials, include:

1) an Air Force-owned space corps that includes only Air Force assets,

2) an Air Force-owned space corps that also takes space-related troops and
assets from the Army and Navy,

3) an independent service that takes from the Air Force, Army, and Navy, and

4) an independent service that takes from the three services plus parts of the
intelligence community.

Vice President Mike Pence and Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan — who
are leading the reorganization of the military’s space operations — are
scheduled to meet Thursday. The two are to discuss the options.

“As part of an ongoing review, the Department is developing options for a Space
Force as a sixth military service branch to implement the President’s vision and
guidance,” Lt. Col. Joseph Buccino, a Defense Department spokesman, said in an
email.

A White House spokeswoman declined to comment.

No matter which option is chosen, the new organization is likely to be called
“Space Force”, according to an Oct. 26 White House memo to the Pentagon. The
memo is from Scott Pace, who is the National Space Council’s executive
secretary, and Earl Matthews, who directs defense policy and strategy at the
National Security Council, and it asks the Pentagon for alternate
recommendations.

“As we work to meet the President’s intent of establishing a separate but
distinct branch of the Armed Forces for Space, [we] request that the Department
of Defense provide analysis and recommendations to the President on the optimal
organizational construct to meet his intent,” they wrote.



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