Trump Orders Creation of a ‘Space Force’ — And Wilbur Ross Wants to Colonize Mars
NEW: Pres. Trump says he is directing the Department of Defense and the Pentagon to “establish a space force as the sixth branch of the armed forces.”
“We must have an American dominance in space.” https://t.co/NkJuIoh4fP pic.twitter.com/HPu4KdahPb
— ABC News (@ABC) June 18, 2018
President Donald Trump announced today the creation of a “Space Force” that will be the official sixth branch of the US armed forces.
“We are going to have a space force,” Trump said, while speaking with the the National Space Council in Washington D.C. on Monday afternoon. “An Air Force and a Space Force. Separate, but equal — it is going to be something.”
He continued:
“It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space, we must have American dominance in space. Very importantly I’m hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a space force as the sixth branch of the armed forces, that is a big statement.”
While the president did not dive into what exactly the Space Force will do, how it will be involved militarily, or how it will be funded, Trump did justify the move by pointing to how “China and Russia and other countries [are] leading us” in the field.
The creation of this new military branch comes after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross expressed his desire to colonize the planet Mars. According to Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin, Ross is “driving the Trump administration space policy.”
Additionally, Vice President Mike Pence previously advocated for putting “American boots on the face of Mars.”
Watch above, via ABC News.
[image via screengrab]
