Space Force Series: The Starfleet Amendment
On the left is the Space Force logo, compared with the fictional “Starfleet Command” logo on the right.
Two weeks ago the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act which has been labeled as the “Starfleet Amendment.” The public comparison between Star Trek and the Space Force first began because of the similarities of the logo, but the comparison extends beyond that when taking a closer look at the vocabulary and strategies of the Space Force and its fictional counterpart. Both this Starfleet Amendment from Congress as well as the Department of Defense’s recently announced Defense Space Strategy are the most recent actions for defining the Space Force’s identity and role in America. Both continue to create a culture and identity for the Force that closely resembles that of “Starfleet Command” in Star Trek. However, Congress' plan to create a culture similar to Star Trek’s has not been received well by everyone, particularly by the Air Force and former Air Force personnel.
One of the most important, but also controversial aims of the Starfleet Act, which has passed the House and is headed to the Senate, calls for the Space Force to adopt the Navy’s system of ranks and grades. While this may seem like a nonissue, Congress has several reasons for the shift, all of them concerning the identity and culture of the Space Force. In my first blog post focused on the Space Force, I asked the question, “Where are all of the Spaceships?” I made the point that the US currently does not have any spaceships like its Star Trek counterpart. The use of the Navy's ranks is a step towards the direction of creating spaceships and a spacefleet, which use maritime vocabulary. As Brian Britt discusses in a recent blog post, vocabulary is important for describing the intentions of an organization and cultivating its identity and culture. This shift to the Navy is putting this into practice.
Peter Garretson writes in a Politico article that the embrace of naval ranks implies the embrace of naval roles as well. This seems to be exactly what Congress intended by the amendment. Garretson, however, cautions against the change of ranks and the quick change of identity and growing independence of the Space Force. He notes that not everyone, especially current and former Air Force personnel are on board with the culture change. Afterall, the Space Force is still under the Department of the Air Force and primarily made up of former Air Force personnel. Many in the Air Force opposed creating a Space Force in the first place and those same people opposed the shift to the Naval ranks as it may “widen the schism” between the two Forces as Garretson suggests. There is still a sense in the Air Force that they can handle America’s presence in space, though Congress has made it clear that they believe differently. Congress is intentionally seeking to distance the Space Force from the Air Force as quickly as possible, despite Garretson’s warning. Whether science fiction has been an inspiration for this is unclear, but the similarities are undeniable. And, Congress is not the only organization implementing similarities to Star Trek on the Space Force. The DoD also seems to be in agreement.
In June the DoD announced its strategy for space going forward. The strategy states that, “space is vital to our Nation’s security, prosperity, and scientific achievement” and it is necessary to “establish and maintain military superiority.” This strategy, which was released before the Starfleet Amendment was passed by the house, gives the Space Force a clear identity going forward, one that is more closely aligned with the identity of the Navy than the Air Force. In addition, the strategy seems closely related to the role of “Starfleet Command” which is “defense, peacekeeping, space exploration, scientific achievement, and diplomacy.” It is important to not overstate the similarities between Star Trek and the Space Force as it is imperative that the Space Force be taken seriously, but it is worth noting that Star Trek intentionally considers the moral obligations and risks of having a starfleet in the universe. Moreover, before anything else it seeks to keep the peace. It is clear that Congress’s intentions with the Space Force are more than just being a dominant armed force, but seek also to be peacekeeping like the Navy. Ziarnick in a separate Political article explains that people want an organization that is strong enough and wise enough to peacefully win a great power competition with the likes of Russia and China. For this reason, a maritime culture may be a wise decision from Congress and the DoD.
Congress is moving on with the same objectives as they had when they announced their intention in creating the latest armed force. Rep. Cooper and Rep. Crenshaw have been clear that they intend to make sure the Space Force has the right culture. Congress’ “Starfleet Amendment” is an important one to follow. For a debate on the impact it will have on the Force check out both politico articles linked above as they offer well thought-out differing opinions. As for the comparisons to Star Trek, it is encouraging that the molders of the Space Force’s culture and identity are carefully considering the best way to protect space from violence and continue to encourage research, exploration, and peace through the United States newest armed force.
Joshua Bell is a graduate student studying Applied Intelligence. He is a Co-President and Co-Founder of the Georgetown University Space Initiative.