ISBN:  Unavailable

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Page count: 46

The Space Force is the first new military service in 70 years, an historic milestone for the Department of Defense and space. But what a military service is has changed over those decades and the Space Force is being founded at a time when some worry the military services have seen their authority and control fragmented. Space Force leaders have to create the identity, organization, and culture of a new military service; establish its unique role; and build the relationships to sustain it. Yet the Space Force is itself drawing its people and funding from the older military services, exacerbating concerns the traditional services are losing authority. Only by understanding that trend can Space Force leaders best launch the Space Force. There is no single meaning for what a military service is and, therefore, no uniform path for Space Force to follow. The Space Force can look for examples at either side of what constitutes a military service: on one side, the smallest military service that shares a military department, the Marine Corps, and on the other side, the largest non-service organization charged with organizing for operations, the Special Operations Command. The Space Force has similarities and differences with both and those distinctions can point the way to how the Space Force can become an independent military service within a fragmented DOD.