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Congressman Mike Rogers talks sixth branch of service in United States military

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SYLACAUGA, Ala.- Recently President Donald Trump announced a sixth branch of the United States armed forces, Space Force. Alabama’s District 3 Representative Mike Rogers, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, visited Talladega Co. and sat down with SylacaugaNews.com to discuss the idea of having space military personnel.

The country as a whole, according to Rogers, has become heavily dependent on satellite and space technology. Not only do people use satellites in daily life with TV, cell phones and more, the nation’s national defense is dependent on satellite technology as well.

“When I first got into congress 16 years ago, didn’t use satellites that much, but now they are completely intertwined in everything we do when fighting wars,” Rogers explained.

So how do satellites benefit the military? Rogers said all cruise missiles, like the ones used to bomb Syria, are guided by national security satellites. Satellites, he said, also help the country keep an eye on other nations when they test nuclear weapons as North Korea has done in the past. “We watch every launch by satellite and that’s how we determine if someone has launched a nuclear weapon anywhere in the world that can possibly hit us or an all.”

The rush to obtain a unit that focuses solely on space comes after the realization that both China and Russia can compete with the US in space. He explained the Air Force has mainly controlled all things space with some help from the Army and Navy in the past, but the US needs a branch that can and will give its space mission due diligence.

“The Air Force is focused on air dominance, as it should be,” the Congressman stated. “We realized somebody has to start being focused on space dominance, otherwise our adversaries could take our eyes and ears out.”

For the foreseeable future, according to Rogers, there is no plan to have a military type base in space, but just the vision to assemble a team that can develop offensive capability in US satellites.

Assembly of the Space Force may be a smooth transition. The US plans to use existing personnel USAF, Army and Navy and separate them into their own branch of service. The US will also take existing civilian personnel and use them. The branch will have its own Chief of Staff, culture and recruitment system.


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