Want to join Trump's Space Force? What to know
Trump called space the 'world's newest warfighting domain'
After President Trump officially declared the U.S. Space Force the sixth branch of the U.S. military last week, many may be wondering how to join the service.
Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has worked with the government on SpaceX projects, expressed interest, tweeting “Starfleet begins” at the Department of Defense. Starfleet refers to the deep space exploratory and defense service in the “Star Trek” franchise.
According to a page on the U.S. Air Force’s website, dedicated to the U.S. Space Force, there will be “many interesting developments to share” as the new branch “becomes a reality.” Interested individuals can sign up to be alerted to new details as they become available.
It appears, however, it is too soon for most civilians to join the branch – the first service introduced to the military since the Air Force spun off from the Army in the 1940s.
SPACE FORCE WILL START SMALL BUT LET TRUMP CLAIM A BIG WIN
ARE MILITARY MEMBERS PAID TOO MUCH?
The Space Force was created as part of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which calls for $738 billion in defense spending.
The budget for the Space Force, specifically, is only expected to be $40 million in its first year – employing about 200 people, according to The Associated Press.
According to details from AirForceTimes.com, right now individuals belonging to the Air Force Space Command will be transitioned over to the Space Force. They will continue to wear Air Force uniforms.
The publication also predicts that some Air Force bases that deal heavily with space operations could be switched over to the new service – like Vandenberg in California.
Gen. Jay Raymond was appointed the first chief of space operations on Friday. He has served as commander of the U.S. Space Command since August.
CLICK TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
In remarks made while signing the NDAA on Friday, Trump said space is “the world’s newest warfighting domain.”
“Amid grave threats to our national security, American superiority in space is absolutely vital. And we’re leading, but we’re not leading by enough. But very shortly, we’ll be leading by a lot,” Trump said. “The Space Force will help us deter aggression and control the ultimate high ground.”
Trump announced his intention to create a Space Force in June of last year. The goals are not only to secure American dominance in space, but also to promote national security and to increase warfighting capabilities.
Space-based activity is critical for everything from communications to Internet broadband to predicting weather patterns.