The House Armed Services Committee voted Wednesday to move forward with the creation of a Space Corps, but some lawmakers and Air Force officials oppose the plan.
Last week, Air Force Times asked readers to vote on whether they think there should be a separate U.S. Space Corps.
The measure would create a sixth branch of the armed services, with its own chief of staff. It would still fall under the auspices of the secretary of the Air Force, similar to the way the Navy and Marine Corps is organized under the secretary of the Navy.
So far, about 1,000 people have voted in the poll, and a little more than half — 53 percent — believe a distinct Space Corps is a good idea. About 61 percent of those who responded think the space domain is as important as any other war-fighting domain, while 30 percent believe it should be a top priority. The remaining 9 percent said there are bigger problems to worry about.
The HASC strategic forces subcommittee originally included the idea in its section of the annual defense policy bill.
"There is bipartisan acknowledgement that the strategic advantages we derive from our national security space systems are eroding," wrote Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the panel's chairman, and ranking member Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., in a joint statement, as reported by Air Force Times' sister publication Defense News. "We are convinced that the Department of Defense is unable to take the measures necessary to address these challenges effectively and decisively, or even recognize the nature and scale of its problems. Thus, Congress has to step in."
The Air Force, however, has argued against the proposal. On June 22, an Air Force spokesman told reporters at the Pentagon that the service is working with what it .
"From the Air Force's perspective, we think right now it's important to take the capabilities and resources that we have and focus on implementation and integration with the broader force, versus creating a separate service," Col. Patrick Ryder said.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein told lawmakers in May that the service's focus should be on ensuring it can blend space operations with the rest of the war-fighting domains.
"Anything that separates space and makes it unique and different, relative to all of the war-fighting missions that we perform that are reliant on space, I don't think [or] believe that will move us in the right direction at this time," he told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee strategic forces subcommittee.
Do you agree? Take our poll and let us know:
Defense News reporters Joe Gould and Valerie Insinna contributed to this report.
Charlsy Panzino covers the Guard and Reserve, training, technology, operations and features for Army Times and Air Force Times. Email her at cpanzino@militarytimes.com.
Charlsy is a Reporter and Engagement Manager for Military Times. Email her at cpanzino@militarytimes.com.
