Tango01  | 08 Jun 2018 3:29 p.m. PST |
"SPACE CORPS? SPACE FORCE? SPACE GUARD? A new twist has been added to the mix. Congress last year proposed a Space Corps, modeled after the Marine Corps. President Trump has floated a Space Force as a separate and equal branch of the military like the the Air Force. Now comes another thought: A Space Guard fashioned after the U.S. Coast Guard…" Main page link Amicalement Armand |
Cacique Caribe | 08 Jun 2018 3:56 p.m. PST |
Great idea! They can practice their skills shooting at fast-moving space debris into smaller pieces. Or they can just go about catching the stuff with lasos. :) Dan
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USAFpilot | 08 Jun 2018 4:30 p.m. PST |
What we see on the surface are the different branches of the military: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines all under the DOD. The real actors are the ‘unified commands' which are ‘joint' service commands divided on geographic and functional lines. CENTCOM, EUCOM, PACOM, are examples of geographic commands. Then there are the functional commands like SOCOM, TRANSCOM, and yes even a SPACECOM. So, in a manner of speaking it already exists. Making a separate military branch would be a waste of funds and adding needless bureaucracy. IMHO |
Cacique Caribe | 08 Jun 2018 4:42 p.m. PST |
The question is who is going to put our guys into space? Are we still going to pay other nations to take us up there? I seriously doubt this is where 1969's Americans thought we would be at this point in our history. Dan |
USAFpilot | 08 Jun 2018 4:59 p.m. PST |
I remember watching a show on tv call Space 1999, about a base on the Moon. And then there is Arthur C. Clarke's 2001 a Space Odyssey with manned space flight to the moons of Jupiter. We seem to be a little behind the time line with respect to what the science fiction writers thought we would be at by now. |
Lion in the Stars | 08 Jun 2018 5:26 p.m. PST |
Half the reason we're behind the curve of what the 1950s and 1960s writers were thinking is because we developed solid state integrated circuits. The big space stations were needed because you had to have a big crew to replace vacuum tubes! |
Weddier | 08 Jun 2018 6:11 p.m. PST |
Ah, yes, Bill the Galactic Hero, Fuse Handler First Class. |
Tgunner | 09 Jun 2018 7:36 a.m. PST |
I don't think we need a new branch of the military, but I can see the Navy forming a "black water" fleet. They would be the best choice as they already have experience operating large vehicles (ships!) for extended "voyages". I don't see the Army or the Corps doing that. The USAF can do some of that stuff like operating fighter style craft in low Earth orbit, but they don't have the experience that the Navy has operating larger craft. So my vote would be for the Navy to carry the ball here and build the first purpose built warships. |
Stryderg | 09 Jun 2018 8:19 a.m. PST |
My vote would be for a unified military force: The Galactic Patrol (que theme music) With everyone following the same command structure but having diversified skill sets. Kind of like the Power Rangers. |
Tango01  | 09 Jun 2018 11:26 a.m. PST |
Good idea!… Amicalement Armand |
Lion in the Stars | 09 Jun 2018 4:13 p.m. PST |
The 'Future History' I've been kicking around has the USAF starting the Space Force, but having a terrible accident or three once they get to a crew of ~20. This then results in the Navy getting the job. |
Ironwolf | 10 Jun 2018 4:17 a.m. PST |
USAF Pilot, what you posted is what I believe the military has clearly said. Yet congress wants to make space command its own separate branch? Well we had the US Space Command 1985-2002. Naval Space Command 1982-2002. We still have NORAD, but its now called North American Aerospace Defense. Air Force Space command 1982-Present. US Army Space Defense Command still operating. So would a Space Corp basically combine all of them together in their own branch?? |
Lion in the Stars | 10 Jun 2018 4:46 p.m. PST |
Oh. Technically, Spaceguard already exists: link . Their job is to find the next dinosaur killer. Their job was a LOT less funny after Shoemaker-Levy 9 smacked into Jupiter with about 6 MILLION megatons. |
Cacique Caribe | 10 Jun 2018 5:08 p.m. PST |
And now the most important question is … what will their uniforms look like? Will they look anything like the MACO jumpsuit uniforms? And then, what 15mm figures would do them justice? Or, if you're into 28s, which ones would represent them best? Dan PS. Or do we have to fall back on the more Pulpy types? TMP link |
Ironwolf | 10 Jun 2018 11:52 p.m. PST |
I vote MACO jumpsuit uniforms. Also if they used the name Space Marines. Do you think GW would sue them?? |
Cacique Caribe | 11 Jun 2018 7:11 a.m. PST |
LOL. GW would try to sue, for sure. But good luck with that claim. :) link Dan
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