Sing Along With Space Force

“Semper Supra” is not a menu item at an ethnic restaurant, it’s the name of the U.S. Space Force anthem. “Semper Supra” (“Always Above”), written by veteran armed forces musicians Jamie Teachenor and Sean Nelson, was wheeled to the launch pad on September 20th. Blast-off was greeted by a galactic chorus of “Meh.”

Of course, in space no one can hear you sing.

More:

“With new official anthem, the Space Force hopes to land on your radar,” Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post

“Space Force Song Shoots for the Stars, but Some Think It Falls Flat,” Michael Levenson, New York Times

“‘It’s not a banger’: response to Space Force official song is less than stellar,” Martin Pengelly, The Guardian

Related:

“Space Force: A Guide to Trump’s Most Misunderstood Creation,” Margaret Hartmann, New York Magazine

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Space Force ‘Guardians’ Get Lapel Pins. Secret Decoder Rings Next?

Lapel Pins, too. Collect ’em all!

Members of outgoing president Donald Trump’s pet Space Force will be issued a nifty official lapel pin to wear on their U.S. Air Force uniforms. That will differentiate them from other flyboys until their capes come back from the tailor. Space Force members, heretofore called “Space Cadets” perhaps, will henceforth be known as “Guardians,” Viceroy Vice President Mike Pence decreed.

“Will ‘Guardian’ be implemented into the rank structure,” asks Gizmodo’s Tom McKay, “like, does someone get promoted from Guardian to Sentinel to Space Paladin to Tython, The Secessionist King Of Mars or something?”

In other space uniform news, Gen. John Raymond, chief of the U.S. Space Force, became a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in some kind of robing ceremony last Friday.

Meanwhile, as the Trump administration had its eyes on the stars and Space Force “Guardians” played video games, real-life antagonists conducted successful cyber attacks on the Pentagon and other U.S. government agencies.

Related:

“Abolish the Space Force,” Sarah Jones, New York Magazine

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U.S. Troops in Space!

Space Force: Enlist and Blast Off Today!

Military troops in the Space Force will someday deploy to orbit, one of the service’s top operations officials said Sept. 29.

‘At some point, yes, we will be putting humans into space,’ Maj. Gen. John E. Shaw, head of the Space Force’s Space Operations Command and part of U.S. Space Command leadership, said during a conference organized by the AFWERX innovation group. ‘They may be operating command centers somewhere in the lunar environment or someplace else.’

Space Force officials, wary of being confused with NASA, usually shy away from questions about whether military personnel will go to the Final Frontier themselves. Experts have split on whether a Space Force astronaut corps is a good idea in the next couple of decades, if at all.

— “Space Force Will Eventually Put Troops in Orbit, Ops Boss Says,” Rachel S. Cohen, Air Force Magazine

Note: Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond is among the senior U.S. military leaders in self-quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure at the White House.

Related:

“Space Force Fears COVID Loss Of Commercial Startups: Gen. Thompson,” Theresa Hitchens, Breaking Defense

Update:

“U.S. Space Force unveils lapel pins for U.S. Air Force uniforms,” Ed Adamczyk, UPI

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Space Force: Countdown to Blast Off!

U.S. Space Operations Force. Enlist now!

“‘I said maybe we need a new force, we’ll call it the Space Force,’ Trump said at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in March 2018. ‘And I was not really serious. Then I said,’What a great idea, maybe we’ll have to do that.'”

“Now, key lawmakers leading the charge have the support they need to make a new U.S. space service a reality. The House and the Senate have both proposed plans for Space Force in their versions of the annual defense bill.

And next month, a congressional conference committee could hammer out a final blueprint in its approval of the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.”

— “With Congressional Blessing, Space Force Is Closer To Launch,” Claudia Grisales, NPR News

Update:

“US Launches Space Command Today,” Carla Babb, VOA

Related:

“Why the Space Force Is Just Like Trump University,” Erin Durkin, The Atlantic

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Ted Cruz and the Space Pirates!

Shiver me timbers, matey! Senator Ted Cruz says we need a Space Force to protect us from space pirates:

“Since the ancient Greeks first put to sea, nations have recognized the necessity of naval forces and maintaining a superior capability to protect waterborne travel and commerce from bad actors. Pirates threaten the open seas, and the same is possible in space. In this same way, I believe we too must now recognize the necessity of a Space Force to defend the nation and to protect space commerce and civil space exploration.”

The CBO says the initial bill to launch the Trump Space Force is $2 billion of your tax dollars, but independent estimates rocket start-up costs closer to $5 billion. Maybe we could defray the expense by licencing the film rights to Netflix. After all, the Cruz space pirate plot treatment is sure getting lots of buzz on Twitter.

More:

“Cruz warns ‘Space Force’ needed to prevent space pirates,” Owen Daugherty, The Hill

“Space Genius Ted Cruz Is Super Worried About Space Pirates Stealing our Space Booty,”
Jason Torchinsky, Foxtrot Alpha

“US Senator Ted Cruz irked by ‘space pirate’ ridicule,” BBC News

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Image: (“Ted Cruz & the Space Pirates, after Louis S. Glanzman”) by Mike Licht.  Download copies here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com.

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Space Force!

U.S. Space Operations Force. Enlist now!

President Trump’s promised Space Force is in development, said Vice President Mike Pence at the Pentagon on Thursday. “You can be confident,” he assured military leaders, citing Psalm 139, “that you will go with the prayers of millions of Americans who will claim on your behalf, … ‘even if you go up to the heavens, even there His hand will guide [you], His right hand will hold [you] fast.’ And He will hold fast this great nation in the great beyond.”

What can account for the religious fervor of Mr. Pence’s belief in the need for a Space Force? It’s not his fear of gay space aliens, it’s something else….