Space Force as a Separate Military Service

President Trump’s move to separate the Space Force from the Air Force received mixed reactions. Critics termed the move “expensive and bureaucratically redundant.” Nonetheless, these analyses represent only part of the picture. This paper details why separating the Space Force service from the Air Force will benefit the Space Force and contribute to complete national security. Budget Independence A separate and autonomous Space Force service enjoys budget independence, essential in managing key functions such as operations, personnel, acquisition, and promotion. While the Space Force was still a domain under the Air Force, it remained reliant on its parent service, which limited its ability to set its priorities. In the past, the Air Force has valued control over space facilities, personnel, and budget. Dolman (2019, 20) submits that the Air Force added additional layers of control, including a long chain of command where the Space Force undersecretary reported to the undersecretary of the Air Force, among other ranks. On the other hand, Spirtas et al. (2020, 78) posit that lack of autonomy hinders any service, even if it is still under a unified command. An excellent example of such a case is CYBERCOM, which could not control various of its service-specific components. Moreover, the lack of independence of the Space Force is likely to contribute to budget battles with other components within the Air Force service and probably cause a chain of command conflict. Thus, the Space Force is best served as a separate domain rather than a part of the Air Force. Effectiveness Although ASAF leaders have previously argued that separation of the Space Force from the Air Force would be “bureaucratically redundant,” Szymanski (2019, 101) proposes the need for establishing a separate Space Force entity that will emphasize Outerspace warfare theory, tactics, strategies, doctrine, and policy. Evidence suggests that currently, there is limited understanding of the techniques and methods for carrying out military operations in space. Thus, separating the Space Force from the Air Force will enable the service to achieve effectiveness. However, it remains unclear whether the Space Force will have direct involvement in ...