Great Falls honors newest armed service, the US Space Force

Active duty service personnel, veterans and ordinary civilians gathered at the Montana Veterans Memorial in Great Falls Tuesday to honor the nation's newest armed service, the United States Space Force.

Before unveiling the seal of the U.S. Space Force, affixed on the wall of the Veterans Memorial, retired U.S . Air Force Col. Bill Woolf, founder of the United States Space Force Association, spoke of the Space Force's importance in securing and protecting the nation from foreign aggression.

"Satellites connect people in every corner of the globe, from monitoring weather patterns to carrying television broadcasts," Woolf noted. "They also provide the positioning, navigation and timing of the GPS (Global Positioning System) constellation that powers global financial networks, enable international commerce, synchronize cell phone networks and optimize critical infrastructure systems."

"The U.S. military is faster, better connected, more informed, more precise and more lethal because of its ability to harness space effectively," he added.

The U.S. Space Force (USSF) was established on Dec. 20, 2019, when the National Defense Authorization Act was signed into law by former President Donald Trump. Passage of the Act created the first new branch of the U.S. armed services since 1947.

According to a news release from Montana Veterans Memorial Association, the establishment of the Space Force was due to widespread recognition that space is a national security imperative.

"When combined with the growing threat posed by strategic competitors in space, it became clear that there was a need for a military service focused solely on pursuing superiority in the space domain," the news release states.

According to a release from Space Operations Command headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, the U.S. Space Force mission includes space electronic warfare, missile warning, cyber operations, surveillance and reconnaissance, and orbital warfare capabilities to the combined U.S. armed forces.

The Space Force is the United States' smallest military service, operating out of four primary installations in Colorado, as well as at a number of smaller squadrons scattered across the U.S. and overseas. In total there are about 18,000 Space Force service members, who are commonly referred to as Guardians.

Malmstrom Air Force Base is home to a small detachment of Space Force Guardians, forming Detachment 1 of the 22 Space Operations Squadron. Detachment 1 consists of roughly 17 members serving a classified cyber mission.

In closing his remarks, Col. Woolf noted that the Space Force Association's mission is to educate the public about what the Space Force is and its critical role within our nation's armed forces.

“There aren't a lot of men and women walking around in uniform with Space Force on their uniform,” said Woolf. “So a lot of people don’t even recognize or understand that the Space Force is a service in the Department of Defense.”

To learn more about the U.S. Space Force visit their official government web site at www.spaceforce.mil.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: US Space Force honored at ceremony in Great Falls, Montana