THE GREAT SPACE FORCE DEBATE: A WAY FORWARD FROM THE PAST?
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Authors
Johnson, Jordan M.
Subjects
Air Force
Army
bureaucratic
Command and Control
Navy
policy
space
Space Force
Space Corps
space directive
United States
U.S. Space Command
Army
bureaucratic
Command and Control
Navy
policy
space
Space Force
Space Corps
space directive
United States
U.S. Space Command
Advisors
Moltz, James C.
Date of Issue
2019-12
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
The concept of a “Space Force” has been debated in rooms at the Pentagon, on social media, and even as a potential series on Netflix, yet space operations have been an integral part of the U.S. armed forces for about 40 years. U.S. interest in space began as an urgent move to prove our nation’s competitiveness during the Cold War. Today, the initiative to have a Space Force is rooted in the nationalism of President Donald Trump. The Space Policy Directive-4 signed by Trump is waiting for congressional approval, so a historical review of the role of space within the U.S. military is needed. This thesis analyzes the roles the Army, Air Force, and Navy have already played within the combined space effort. Through this historical analysis, this study offers a comparative examination of the space interests of each of the three branches of service, showing how each defines and views space, and addresses space organization within the services. The study concludes that the Air Force Space Command should remain under the U.S. Air Force and be renamed the Space Corps with both United States Space Command and the Space Corps being the central chain of command for all the services.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Space Systems Academic Group (SP)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.