Defense Secretary James Mattis said that the Defense Department is doing all it can to carry out President Trump’s instruction to establish a Space Force, Defense One reported Wednesday.
Speaking before the media at the Pentagon on Nov. 21, Mattis said defense officials are “trying to produce what the president wants, which is a Space Force capability.†However, the president had initially called for the formation a Space Force to be a new, independent military service. An Oct. 26 memo from the White House revealed the Trump Administration is considering alternative organizational arrangements.
In the memo, National Space Council Executive Secretary Scott Pace and Earl Matthews of the National Security Council asked the Pentagon if the Space Force would be better suited as “a new independent military department†or as “a separate service within the Department of the Air Force.â€
Officials speaking on condition of anonymity told Defense One the White House may be exploring alternative Space Force options because of concerns that Congress will reject proposals to put up a new service branch.
