Space Force — or Farce? Symbolism over substance

Estimated costs projected at $13 billion over the next five years

Space Force all the way! tweeted Donald Trump. Sounds thrilling, till you realize it’s all symbolism, symbolism, all the way down.

Every single proposed ‘reform’ that Vice President Mike Pence described in his speech was already underway, having been initiated in the Obama Administration. The lily-gilding that Donald Trump has added is all bling: New uniforms! A new Academy! A new logo! New songs and spiffy new flyovers for the Big Parade! All of that — plus pulling hundreds of skilled officers away from important duties in order to build another bloated bureaucracy — will cost billions without adding lethality or sagacity or an iota of deterrence.

What will it actually cost? The most recent estimate from the Air Force is that creating a sixth military branch could run up $13 billion just over the next five years. Much of this involves administrative overhead required to establish a new headquarters, staffing and new building construction. Military experts rightly fear that creating this new force would be an ongoing distraction — siphoning needed resources from other defense divisions. Significant political opposition exists on both sides of the aisle.