32 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

It really should be separate from the Air Force as it operates in a different theater

In the Star Talk video, Major General Burt says their area of responsibility extends from 100 km to Infinity (28:34) and, yes, it was suggested that it should be to "Infinity and Beyond".

 

Ahem!

Space Force Uniform:

Battlestar Galactica Uniform:

Is the Space Force really a military branch?  The Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and even Coast Guard members go into harms way and meet the enemy face to face and risk their lives doing it.  How brave do you have to be to sit at a console and count satellites?  They never meet the enemy face to face like real military members do.

Noel

I think it's pronounced Space Farce! 🛸

1 hour ago, birdguy said:

Is the Space Force really a military branch?  The Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and even Coast Guard members go into harms way and meet the enemy face to face and risk their lives doing it.  How brave do you have to be to sit at a console and count satellites?  They never meet the enemy face to face like real military members do.

Wow.  I'm surprised that you would say something like that considering that you claim to be a veteran. 

There are many jobs in the military that don't involve combat and which are actually relatively safe and far from any danger.

Why pick on the service men and women who conduct satellite operations and surveillance?

Dave

1 hour ago, birdguy said:

Is the Space Force really a military branch?  The Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and even Coast Guard members go into harms way and meet the enemy face to face and risk their lives doing it.  How brave do you have to be to sit at a console and count satellites?  They never meet the enemy face to face like real military members do.

It is.  The former Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs is now officially Peterson Space Force Base.

As far as going into harms way, not nearly everyone in any branch of the services does that.  There are lots of "real military members" working in support elements of every service whose duties are "in the rear with the gear"--and without which nothing would move.  It's important not to confuse dedication with bravery...you can have the one without ever being placed in a situation that requires the other. 

Now where it gets stupid is when talk arises of awarding decorations or other recognition reserved for personal risk-taking and/or bravery in combat to guys sitting at desks on another continent--that's a bridge too far, and there have been ridiculous attempts to cross that bridge at times, too--e.g. the idea of drone operators logging "combat time" while flying a Predator drone over Afghastlystan from an air-conditioned van in the middle of the Nevada desert. 

1 hour ago, dave2013 said:

There are many jobs in the military that don't involve combat and which are actually relatively safe and far from any danger.

I guess it's those old Marine's still held belief in the motto that every Marine is a rifleman.  Personnel clerks and cooks are expected to drop their pencils and notepads or forks and soup ladles and pick up their rifles when push comes to shove.

Why even as an Air Force weather forecaster I had to qualify annually with both the ,38 and the M-16.  And those who didn't qualify had to undergo additional training until they did.

Every military branch is considered an armed force.  What is the basic weapon of a Guardian?  A .38?  An M-16.

Granted many members of the ARMED forces has jobs that will not take them into harms way...but they could be deployed and must be trained in the use of basic weapons like the .38 or M-16.  Especially in today's combat environment where you don't know who the enemy is because they don't wear uniforms.

Where are you going to send Guardians where they might have to defend themselves?

As for CLAIMING to be a veteran Dave.  I'll stack my military service up against anyone's.   A total of 26 years of military service.

Four years in the Marine Corps serving in Korea during the Korean War.

Twelve years in Air Force serving in both Vietnam and Thailand.  And at Nha Trang when the civilian workers failed to show one morning we were issued our M-16s and sat in bunkers whiloe the VC rocketed and mortared the base for almost an hour.

And nine years in Colorado Air National Guard as a weather forecaster but assigned to the Montana Army Guard's 163rd Armored Cavalry Regiment where I carried both a .45 and an M-16.  Had they been called up for Desert Storm we would have gone with them.

And I ask the question, will Guardians ever be deployed to a war zone?

Noel 

 

1 hour ago, Bob Scott said:

Now where it gets stupid is when talk arises of awarding decorations or other recognition reserved for personal risk-taking and/or bravery in combat to guys sitting at desks on another continent--that's a bridge too far, and there have been ridiculous attempts to cross that bridge at times, too--e.g. the idea of drone operators logging "combat time" while flying a Predator drone over Afghastlystan from an air-conditioned van in the middle of the Nevada desert.

That's a very big sore point with me Bob.  When I heard that Bronze Stars were being handed out to AWACs crews it cheapened the award in my mind.  It's supposed to be a medal awarded for bravery and conspicuous action in the face of the enemy.  Now it's just a step above the Good Conduct Medal.

Noel

11 minutes ago, birdguy said:

And I ask the question, will Guardians ever be deployed to a war zone?

Yes...there are space elements embedded in forward units as part of the ISR components in various HQs. Other elements run forward ground stations in the AOR.  They'd be just as much at risk as a weather guy.

2 minutes ago, Bob Scott said:

Yes...there are space elements embedded in forward HQ units as part of the ISR components in various HQs. Other elements run forward ground stations in the AOR.  They'd be just as much at risk as a weather guy.

I was not aware of that.  I stand corrected.  But I still think the Space Force should be a part of the Air Force just as the Marine Corps is a part of the Navy.

Noel

19 minutes ago, birdguy said:

And I ask the question, will Guardians ever be deployed to a war zone?

Possibly they will, much as band members when on deployment will serve as HQ Company guards whenever not otherwise occupied in their primary MOS.

As for the future, at some point there will undoubtedly be spaceborne military spaceships... and the Space Force will be ready to perform their unique duties.

6 minutes ago, n4gix said:

Possibly they will, much as band members when on deployment will serve as HQ Company guards whenever not otherwise occupied in their primary MOS.

As for the future, at some point there will undoubtedly be spaceborne military spaceships... and the Space Force will be ready to perform their unique duties.

Anybody remember this?

Never been in the military, but if I was, I would rather be on the ground, where there's at least (probably) something to hide behind!! 

 

3 hours ago, birdguy said:

Is the Space Force really a military branch?

I believe more will be revealed within the next 5-10 years. Space Force may just end up being the most important branch of the military. 

31 minutes ago, birdguy said:

Why even as an Air Force weather forecaster I had to qualify annually with both the ,38 and the M-16. 

I worked in hangars near the flightline on an Air Force Base and would not have been directly involved in combat unless our base was attacked, yet we also had to qualify on the M-16 every year.   We also had to do MOPP exercises every year in case of chemical attack.

Any person working on a military base is potentially in danger, even if they're working in an office.

Dave