On December 20, President Trump
signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act and with it, directed the
establishment of the U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces.
“We are at the dawn of a new
era for our nation’s Armed Forces. The establishment of the U.S. Space
Force is an historic event and a strategic imperative for our nation.
Space has become so important to our way of life, our economy, and our
national security that we must be prepared as a nation to protect it from hostile
actions,” said Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. “Our military services
have created the world’s best space capabilities. Now is the time for the
U.S. Space Force to lead our nation in preparing for emerging threats in an
evolving space environment. This new service will help ensure we are
postured to deter aggression, defend our national interests and outpace
potential adversaries.”
“Space is critical to our
nation’s economic interests, national security, and way of life,” said Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley. “In military operations,
space is not just a place from which we support combat operations in other
domains, but a warfighting domain in and of itself. Our adversaries are
building and deploying capabilities to threaten us, so we can no longer take
space for granted. The U.S. Space Force is the necessary and essential
step our nation will take to defend our national interests in space today and
into the future.”
“The launch of the U.S. Space Force
propels the nation into a new era,” said Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett.
“An agile, lean and technologically-advanced force of talented professionals
will now singularly focus on protecting our U.S. national interests and
security in space.”
“With the establishment of the Space Force we elevate the organize, train and equip function consistent with the criticality of the space domain,” said Gen. Jay Raymond, Chief of Space Operations and Commander, U.S. Space Command. “The U.S. Space Force will deliver the capabilities U.S. Space Command needs to control and exploit space for national advantage.”
Source: U.S. Department of Defense
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