In the latest paper of the FY 2022 Military Forces series, Mark Cancian discusses the newly-formed U.S. Space Force as it struggles to find an identity, special operations forces as they adjust from irregular warfare to great power conflict, and debates on the role of DOD civilians and contractors.
National security space policy is at an inflection point. President Biden’s administration has a number of new avenues for progress, but should also continue key Trump-era initiatives.
Military forces include not just traditional services, but also the newly created Space Force, special operations forces, civilians, and contractors. In his final paper in a series on U.S. forces, Mark Cancian analyzes recent changes to these national security elements.
Despite criticism, the creation of the Space Force as an independent service was a timely, strategically-important decision. It would be a bad idea to roll it back into the Air Force.
Seamus Daniels and Kaitlyn Johnson analyze the impact of this month’s stopgap spending bill on defense programs and the Space Force.
The clock is ticking, and the Senate, where floor time is always at a premium, has only 35 days in session after July 4th before fiscal 2020 begins (August is mostly recess, unless the Senate decides to enjoy the swelter of a Washington summer).
In 2018, President Trump requested the creation of the U.S. Space Force. Since then three competing visions for its structure have been crafted: one from the Department of Defense and two from the U.S. House and Senate. This brief compares these three legislative proposals to create a new military service for space.
On February 19, 2019, President Trump signed a new Space Policy Directive, which directs the Department of Defense (DoD) to formally create a separate military service for space. This long-anticipated announcement endorses DoD to submit to Congress a request to stand up the U.S. Space Force.
Bad ideas. How much trouble do they cause in national security? How do they disrupt or hinder the protection and advancement of American interests? Listen to the War on the Rocks podcast featuring authors from the Defense360 “Bad Ideas in National Security” series.
As the administration moves forward with establishing a new military service focused on space, leaders should keep their language clear and use this opportunity to educate the public about both civil and national security space. Keeping NASA and the Space Force separate rhetorically and organizationally is best for national security and for space exploration.