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Space Force? Seriously?

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My grasp of reality is sometimes in doubt, but is our president serious about establishing a Space Force? Really? Space Force? Did no one tell him about Reagan’s defunct Star Wars proposal?

I laughed when I first heard him announce it. Then I read somewhere that our military leaders are actually drawing up some plans for it. I guess when the commander-in-chief (now there’s a scary thought!) says we’re going to do something, everybody else has to jump.

I also have a tenuous grasp of math and economics. But how can you make huge cuts in the taxes paid by our wealthiest citizens and corporations, and then turn right around and ask for billions or trillions to build a Space Force? Not to mention the still unfunded border wall.

Reduce the government’s income while at the same time demanding massive new expenditures? I can’t speak for others, but my budget sure doesn’t work that way.

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Susan Richards is a retired editor living in Thornton, Colo., near the family and mountains she loves. Her long-standing Pied Type blog contains some 3,800 posts dating back to 2002.

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12 thoughts on “Space Force? Seriously?”

  2. Actually, we already have a “space force”. Comprised of some 38,000 personnel, it is titled the Air Force Space Command. By pushing this absurd idea,Trump and Pence are showing their ignorance and inexperience in things military. Not only is a separate branch unnecessary, it would be counterproductive. Inter-service rivalry is a real thing, different uniforms, different equipment for similar functions, different supply logistics bureaucracies that duplicate functions. A sixth force would only make this worse. Furthermore, the USAF is the logical force for space functions because manned aircraft are being replaced by drones. What else are they going to do when pilots are no longer needed?

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    1. I wasn’t aware of that, but it makes sense that it be an extension of the Air Force. They do the high flying, the pilot and astronaut training, etc. All they need to do is fly a bit higher and voila, Space Force. But of course, if it isn’t something new and different, Donny won’t get to put his name on it.

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  3. When I first heard the announcement, all I could think was “It’s Buck Rogers time…”. Had to laugh.
    Besides it’s job corps for the young gamers – they make the best pilots, robot controllers, drone herders according to those who know.
    We’re have a lot of NASA and NASA contractors around. There’s been issues/problems with duplications (red tape, personnel, authority conflicts, and budgets) by having so many agencies involved. So much waste.
    It looks good on paper to unify everything into one agency and get all those other little fingers out of the pie, but the devil is always in the details. We’ll see.
    To fund it, we should demand DC start by trimming fed agency costs and reducing fed agency personnel, and stop any spending/handout programs for non citizens ( maybe that would inspire some in the shadows to see the value of citizenship and put in the effort to become one..
    I’m all for sending less money to Washington – it never gets where it needs to go. Let them learn to budget and make do like everyone else.
    Space cadets….rather have real ones than what’s sitting in DC/Congress right now

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    1. “Make do like everybody else.” Ha, that’s my morning laugh. I sometimes think the only reason Congress exists is to raise its own salaries every year. And cater to the lobbyists in order to garner even more income.

      NASA knows space flight. Seems logical to start with them, rather them farm out all their work to private contractors. The govt. doesn’t want to fund NASA anymore but it does want a new Space Force? Go figure.

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