Politics

Pence Set To Deliver Plan For Trump’s Space Force During Pentagon Speech

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Evie Fordham Politics and Health Care Reporter
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Vice President Mike Pence will deliver details about plans for President Donald Trump’s proposed Space Force at the Pentagon Thursday morning.

Pence will outline plans for a “U.S. Space Command” in a speech that will be livestreamed at 11:15 a.m. Thursday, reported The Washington Post.

Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan will also speak about the space command and “a new joint agency for buying satellites” the Pentagon wants by the end of 2018, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Space Force is not a done deal. Congress has yet to approve it, and some Air Force officials oppose it as a threat to their current jurisdiction and budget, reported the LA Times. Air Force officials fear the creation of a space command would cost them the $8 billion they have budgeted “for building and launching satellites, along with other space systems,” reported the LA Times.

If the proposed Space Force gets the okay from Congress, it would likely start off with approximately 30,000 members siphoned from the Air Force and other military branches. It would represent a fraction of the number of personnel in the next largest branch, the Marine Corps, which has an 186,1000-member active duty force, reported the LA Times.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis opposed the idea of a Space Force in 2017 but has since changed his tune. (RELATED: Russia: ‘Tough Response’ If US Creates Space Force)

“We are in complete agreement with the president’s concerns about protecting our assets in space,” Mattis told reporters Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Trump originally floated the idea of a Space Force during a speech at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in California on March 13.

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