Opposing view: ‘Space Force is an idea whose time has come’

Excerpts from Vice President Mike Pence’s remarks at the Pentagon on Thursday:

As commander in chief, President Trump’s highest priority is the safety and security of the American people. Now the time has come to write the next great chapter in the history of our armed forces, to prepare for the next battlefield where America’s best and bravest will be called to deter and defeat a new generation of threats. The time has come to establish the United States Space Force.

As President Trump has said, “It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space; we must have American dominance in space.”

And so we will.

That’s precisely why we’re beginning the process of establishing a Space Force as the sixth branch of our armed forces. Just as in the past, when we created the Air Force, establishing the Space Force is an idea whose time has come.

The space environment has fundamentally changed in the last generation. What was once peaceful and un- contested is now crowded and adversarial. Today, other nations are seeking to disrupt our space-based systems and challenge American supremacy in space as never before.

As their actions make clear, our adversaries have transformed space into a war fighting domain already. And the United States will not shrink from this challenge. Under President Trump’s leadership, we will meet it head on to defend our nation and build a peaceful future here on Earth and in space.

America will always seek peace in space as on the Earth. But history proves that peace only comes through strength. And in the realm of outer space, the United States Space Force will be that strength in the years ahead.

Our nation’s armed forces have always been the vanguard of advancing American leadership here on Earth and beyond. And the Space Force is the next and the natural evolution of American military strength.

The United States Space Force will strengthen our security, it will ensure our prosperity, and it will also carry American ideals into the boundless expanse of space.