We are about to get a sixth branch of the U.S. military. There are currently five branches:
- Army
- Navy
- Marine Corps
- Air Force
And most people forget to include the:
- Coast Guard
The soon to be approved sixth branch?
- United States Space Force
Yes, the Congress is just about to approve moving space missions out of the Air Force and into a new branch.
10/10/19 – Behind the Black – Congress approves establishment of Space Force – Actually, it was approved and moved out of joint committee. Initially the Space Force will be a department within the U.S. Air Force.
Price the administration had to pay in order to log-roll Congress into agreement with their priority? Granting all federal workers 12 weeks paid parental leave. Or, if you prefer, the price one side of the House paid to get their priority of 12 weeks paid leave was agreeing to a new branch of the military.
12/9/19 – Space News – NDAA conference agreement establishes U.S. Space Force, directs major overhaul of space acquisitions – Conference agreement establishes the U.S. Space Force as a new branch within USAF. Chief of Space Operations will be the senior commander who will report to the Secretary of the Air Force and also sit on the JCS. Acquisition channels are also changed so USSF can buy its own equipment.
12/11/19 – Popular Mechanics – The Space Force Will Become the Sixth Branch of the U.S. Military – Article describes some of the missions that will be moved into USSF.
Immediate staffing will be only about 200 to get the transition started. Of that, 151 will be from USAF, 24 from the Army, and 14 from the Navy. Eventually there may be around 15,000 staff transferred from USAF.
12/11/19 – Washington Post – House passes bill establishing Space Force, parental leave for federal workers – The House approved the defense bill with a price tag of $738 billion. Vote was 377-48. In addition to funding all defense operations for another year, the bill allows all federal employees to have 12 weeks of paid parental leave and authorizes the new USSF. It also includes a 3.1% raise for the military.
I haven’t seen any comments that indicate any offensive weaponry will be moved into the new commands. That tells me that ICBMs will remain in USAF and SLBMs will remain in USN, which makes sense.