Retired United States Air Force Brigadier General Buzz Aldrin, a famed NASA astronaut, endorsed former President Donald Trump this week.
Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon, said that he was impressed by how Trump prioritized space exploration during his time in office.
&#8220;Under President Trump&#8217;s first term, America saw a revitalized interest in space,&#8221; he said. &#8220;His Administration reignited national efforts to get back to the Moon, and push on to Mars – programs that continue today.&#8221;
&#8220;The Trump Administration also reinstituted the National Space Council, so leading voices could advocate for the importance of space to America,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Finally, under President Trump, the Nation&#8217;s defense was enhanced with the creation of the U.S. Space Force– increasingly important as space becomes a contested domain.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
He said he was also excited by individuals pushing for space exploration in the private sector, namely Elon Musk, who he called a &#8220;visionary.&#8221;
He said he was deeply concerned about the global security landscape, domestic economic concerns, and stability in local communities.
&#8220;The Presidency requires an understanding of human nature, clarity in judgement, decisiveness, knowledge, understanding, and calm under pressures few have a natural ability to manage, or the life experience to successfully undertake,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It is a job where decisions are made that routinely involve American lives – some urgently but not without thought. The job requires sober analysis of frightening scenarios, and the instinct to lead with resolve.&#8221;
He said that he understands the importance of having certain leadership qualities based on his combat experience during the Korean War.
&#8220;Most citizens rightly consider it an honor to cast their vote for a leader they believe will best serve the Nation – our government by, for and of the people,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brigadier-general-buzz-aldrin-endorses-donald-j-trump-for-president-of-the-united-states-302291636.html">said</a>. &#8220;For me, for the future of our Nation, to meet enormous challenges, and for the proven policy accomplishments above, I believe the nation is best served by voting for Donald J. Trump.&#8221;
&#8220;I wholeheartedly endorse him for President of the United States,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;Godspeed President Trump, and God Bless the United States of America.&#8221;

Dr. Buzz Aldrin Honored With “Richard Nixon Greatest Comeback Award” Ahead Of The 50th Anniversary Of The Apollo 11 Splashdown

Buzz Aldrin Endorses Trump For President

Donald Trump

Elections

Outer Space

Politics

Space

United States Space Force

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> is threatening legal action after California officials cited his politics in their decision to reject more SpaceX rocket launches.
On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission rejected the U.S. Space Force&#8217;s request for more frequent SpaceX rocket launches. The Space Force had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-launches-california-coastal-commission-2024-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> that SpaceX be allowed to do 50 launches a year of its Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Space Force Base, up from 36 launches.
The commission denied the request in a six-to-four vote.
During a hearing on the issue, commissioners griped about Musk&#8217;s political views, as well as his campaign stop with former President Donald Trump earlier this month.
Caryl Hart, the commission chair, sparked accusations of illegal regulatory lawfare when she distinguished between SpaceX and other companies.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not the other companies. This is about SpaceX increasing their launches, not the other companies increasing their launches,&#8221; Hart said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Coastal Commission has one job – take care of the California coast. 
It is illegal for them to make decisions based on what they (mostly wrongly) think are my politics. 
For example, I have done more to advance sustainable energy &amp; help the environment than maybe anyone… <a href="https://t.co/x5CF2WkVdA">https://t.co/x5CF2WkVdA</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1846281675430334854?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;We&#8217;re dealing with a company the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race and made it clear what his point of view is,&#8221; she said.
Hart also <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/company-news/2024/10/11/california-commissioners-reject-expansion-of-spacex-launches-a-non-binding-rebuff-of-musk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared</a> to forget that SpaceX Director of Government Affairs Matthew Dunn had participated in the hearing via Zoom earlier.
Commissioner Mike Wilson said at the hearing that politics and science &#8220;mix in these spaces.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729077615157000&amp;usg=AOvVaw17Kprl74oE9DYOLREdiBPU">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ COMING TO DAILYWIRE+ OCT. 28</a>
Wilson complained that Musk was &#8220;speaking about political retribution on a national stage, and it was very glib, but yet he was standing next to a person, a candidate that openly promotes and is working to normalize that language, and we have to push back against that.&#8221;
Commissioner Gretchen Newsom accused Musk of &#8220;hopping about the country spewing and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking FEMA while claiming his desire to help the hurricane victims.&#8221;
Musk skewered the Commission in comments posted to X.
&#8220;The Coastal Commission has one job – take care of the California coast. It is illegal for them to make decisions based on what they (mostly wrongly) think are my politics,&#8221; Musk wrote.
The SpaceX founder added that he has done &#8220;more to advance sustainable energy &amp; help the environment than maybe anyone ever, which is not exactly a &#8216;far-right&#8217; position.&#8221;
&#8220;Yet here they are shamelessly breaking the law! They should resign immediately and face the appropriate legal consequences for their actions,&#8221; Musk said.
Musk has been outspoken in his support of Trump this election cycle.
During his October 5 campaign stop with Trump in Pennsylvania, the tech mogul urged people to register to vote and cast their ballot for Trump in the crucial swing state.
Trump is locked in an extremely close race with Vice President Kamala Harris. Several polls this month have shown her tiny national lead starting to shrink.

7th Viva Technology Conference In Paris – Day 3

‘Shamelessly Breaking The Law!’: Elon Musk Blasts California Officials Denying SpaceX Launches

'Shamelessly Breaking The Law!': Elon Musk Blasts California Officials Denying SpaceX Launches

California

Elon Musk

First Amendment

General

SpaceX

Trump 2024

U.S.

Less than a week ago, as engineers at SpaceX prepared to achieve something that had never been done before in human history, a dozen bureaucrats at the California Coastal Commission assembled to do something that&#8217;s been done many, many times before. The commissioners — a group that mostly consists of liberal women — set up a massive regulatory roadblock to impede people who are actually doing real, important work. And these commissioners established this roadblock in a way that made it extremely obvious to everyone that the root of their frustration was their own jealousy and bitterness.
The following clips come from a meeting of the California Coastal Commission to consider SpaceX&#8217;s plans to launch as many as 50 rockets every year from Vandenberg Space Force Base, which is located in Southern California&#8217;s Santa Barbara County. This is a plan that was formally proposed by the Air Force and the Space Force, because SpaceX is a military contractor — and everything SpaceX does either directly benefits the Defense Department, or more broadly advances the interests of this country. But the California Coastal Commission, in its infinite wisdom, disagrees. They <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-10-11/la-me-spacex-coastal-commission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted down</a> the proposal for more launches. So why did they do that, exactly?
Here&#8217;s one of the commissioners, Gretchen Newsom (no relation to Gavin Newsom), explaining her reasoning. Pay attention not only to what she says, but also how she says it. Watch:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Once all the crazy talks from the public are over, the even crazier talks from government officials start. Now it REALLY becomes clear as to what the actual reasons are. 
Here is <a href="https://twitter.com/GretchenNewsom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GretchenNewsom</a> spewing a load of bullshit about Starlink. The quoted post explains just how wrong… <a href="https://t.co/iVqI9AP0jI">pic.twitter.com/iVqI9AP0jI</a>
&mdash; Robin (@xdNiBoR) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdNiBoR/status/1845895750204436736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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She&#8217;s practically snarling over the fact that Elon Musk provided internet access to people in a storm. This is internet access that the federal government denied these people, because the Biden-Harris administration cut Starlink out of a funding program for rural broadband access. And as you&#8217;d expect, many of these people voluntarily — and gratefully — accepted this internet access from Elon Musk in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
But somehow this is all a &#8220;sick ploy,&#8221; says Gretchen Newsom. And she makes that claim because, if they wanted Starlink, people had to pay a couple hundred dollars for the Starlink unit — the normal cost of the device — followed by a monthly fee after 30 free days of service (which has since been extended, for free, to the end of 2024). In other words, according to the California Coastal Commission, it&#8217;s not enough for Elon Musk to swoop in and provide basic services that the Biden administration failed to provide. He also has to do it for free. And if he doesn&#8217;t, the government will retaliate against him by blocking permits to launch rockets.
There&#8217;s so much to going on in that clip, it&#8217;s not even clear where to begin. But I wanted to start with Starlink, because it highlights the anti-human ideology that&#8217;s consumed so much of the Left. They don&#8217;t care if Elon Musk is saving lives in disaster zones in states like North Carolina. They don&#8217;t care if people are voluntarily paying him money so that they can access a vital service like the internet. They only care about damaging Elon Musk as much as possible.
And from that clip, it&#8217;s pretty clear why they want to damage Elon Musk. Gretchen Newsom says that Musk has made &#8220;bigoted&#8221; remarks about the &#8220;transgender community.&#8221; She claims he&#8217;s &#8220;spewing and tweeting political falsehoods about FEMA.&#8221; First of all, it would be hard to imagine a more direct and obvious violation of the First Amendment than these statements. Elon Musk has already said he&#8217;s suing the California Coastal Commission over this, and he absolutely should. On top of that, the things Elon Musk was saying are true. Men can&#8217;t become women. And FEMA did waste more than a billion dollars on services for illegal migrants. If the Constitution protects anything, it&#8217;s statements like these.
That&#8217;s how the Constitution is written, anyway. But obviously that&#8217;s not how things work in places that are run exclusively by Democrats, like California. We saw that just a couple of weeks ago, when the governor, Gavin Newsom, tried to ban satire and memes. He didn&#8217;t like how people on social media were talking about Kamala Harris being a DEI hire, so he tried to outlaw it. He just came right out and said it. And Gretchen Newsom (again, no relation, surprisingly enough) has taken the exact same approach, right out in the open.
There are a few other things that Gretchen Newsom said that I could quibble with. For example, no, Musk isn&#8217;t requesting &#8220;government support.&#8221; This meeting, again, is about a request by the Air Force and Space Force for the California Coastal Commission to get out of the way. No one wants the &#8220;support&#8221; of this commission. They want this commission to stop bothering them. Of course, technically, the military can override this commission if it wants to. But right now they&#8217;re working to find some kind of compromise solution. That may not last for very long, though.
That&#8217;s because it&#8217;s not just Gretchen Newsom who thinks like this. The majority of the Coastal Commission in California is the same way. Here for example is Caryl Hart, the chair of the Commission. And this clip may be even more embarrassing than the previous one. Watch:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Next, here is Dr. Hart, the chair of the CCC, forgetting about Mathew Dun and she has to be interrupted. I think this shows how much she cares and how much attention she pays to everything. 
She&#39;s also scared about her position. Lol. <a href="https://t.co/JKHDvIQsjK">pic.twitter.com/JKHDvIQsjK</a>
&mdash; Robin (@xdNiBoR) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdNiBoR/status/1845895764154716191?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
So she tries to ding SpaceX for not showing up on Zoom during the meeting. And then she&#8217;s told that, in fact, SpaceX did show up by Zoom. In fact, someone named Mathew Dun, the Director for Government Affairs at SpaceX, gave a whole presentation. He explained that SpaceX is currently supporting the Defense Department, Boeing and NASA. He pointed out that SpaceX is the only operational U.S. provider for astronaut transportation to the International Space Station — which is kind of a big deal, because astronauts are trapped up there at the moment. He went into detail about how Starlink assists the Pentagon, in addition to disaster victims.
But somehow, the chair of the California Coastal Commission missed all of this. And when she&#8217;s informed that SpaceX had shown up and done a whole presentation, she instantly waves it off. She says it wasn&#8217;t enough for her. So obviously, she made up her mind long before this hearing. And again, it&#8217;s clear what she&#8217;s really upset about. She complains that Musk has, &#8220;aggressively injected himself into the presidential race and made it clear what his point of view is.&#8221; So, in other words, he&#8217;s exercised his First Amendment rights in a way that the California Coastal Commission doesn&#8217;t approve of.
For good measure, Caryl Hart also complains that Musk has, &#8220;managed the company&#8221; in a way that&#8217;s &#8220;very disturbing.&#8221; It&#8217;s hard to know exactly what that&#8217;s a reference to. Maybe she&#8217;s complaining about that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hostile-work-environment-elon-musk-becomes-the-latest-target-of-left-wing-lawfare" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> by some former SpaceX employees, which accused Musk of posting insensitive memes on X. Those memes were allegedly very traumatizing to these employees — particularly the meme depicting Bill Gates as a pregnant man emoji. It&#8217;s very disturbing stuff.
Or maybe she&#8217;s referring to how SpaceX was <a href="https://spacenews.com/faa-fines-spacex-for-launch-license-violations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fined</a> several hundred thousand dollars because of alleged &#8220;launch license violations&#8221; last year — even though those &#8220;launch license violations&#8221; wouldn&#8217;t have been violations at all, if the FAA had responded to SpaceX&#8217;s various applications in time. Maybe that&#8217;s what the commissioner finds &#8220;disturbing.&#8221;
Or maybe she&#8217;s talking about how SpaceX is doing things that no one has ever done before in all of human history. Maybe she finds that disturbing. Maybe she doesn&#8217;t see any benefit to reusable rockets, or colonizing Mars, or rapidly deploying satellites to provide internet access to millions of people. Maybe the idea of human progress upsets this particular bureaucrat. That would explain a lot.
You can go through the whole hearing and you won&#8217;t find a serious explanation for the commission&#8217;s ultimate vote, which was to deny SpaceX the additional launches. But you will find a lot of hysteria. 
There&#8217;s a user on X using the handle &#8220;Robin&#8221; who assembled some of the better examples. Here&#8217;s two of them. The first clip is a commissioner named Dayna Bochco, who announces that the Air Force and Space Force are wrong, and that really, SpaceX has nothing to do with our national defense. She just comes out and unilaterally declares that SpaceX doesn&#8217;t benefit the government in any way. She knows more than the Pentagon and all of the engineers on this point. Watch:
The second clip is a woman — a member of the public — complaining about sonic booms from the launches. Watch:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Then, we have this absolute gem. She doesn&#39;t think that the launches are needed for the federal government or defense. <a href="https://t.co/mhT7mDkaKV">pic.twitter.com/mhT7mDkaKV</a>
&mdash; Robin (@xdNiBoR) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdNiBoR/status/1845895766591610884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This next clip is a woman — a member of the public — complaining about sonic booms from the launches. Watch:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I suppose we shouldn&#39;t expand humanity&#39;s presence in space because Leah finds a sonic boom &#39;terrifying&#39; and claims she &#39;felt it through my bones.&#39;
Then she talks about the recent landing failure as if that has anything to do with it. 🤦 <a href="https://t.co/5gRxlKgfk0">pic.twitter.com/5gRxlKgfk0</a>
&mdash; Robin (@xdNiBoR) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdNiBoR/status/1845895745213202744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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There&#8217;s all sorts of back-and-forth on this sonic boom issue. SpaceX disagrees on how many of these booms are audible in populated areas, and how loud they are, and so on. But let&#8217;s just put all that aside for a moment. Let&#8217;s concede, for the purposes of argument, that every now and then there&#8217;s briefly a loud noise from a SpaceX launch, and that some people can hear it for a second or two. In what universe does this justify denying SpaceX the ability to launch rockets at all?
This would be like denying construction crews the ability to work, at all, at any time. Imagine if people like this had their way during any other significant moments in this country&#8217;s history. Imagine if someone like that lady was bothered by all the noise they were making in Los Alamos, and had the Manhattan Project shut down. Imagine being the kind of person who hears a couple seconds of a sonic boom, and feels &#8220;terrified&#8221; as a result. When this woman says &#8220;sonic boom,&#8221; this is what we&#8217;re talking about here, to give you some idea. Watch:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Tracking footage of Falcon 9’s first stage booster landing and sonic boom <a href="https://t.co/HNohw3oCCp">pic.twitter.com/HNohw3oCCp</a>
&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1820562095613898976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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So the rocket makes a loud noise — that&#8217;s reason number 10,000 to shut down SpaceX, apparently. And I haven&#8217;t even gotten into the DOJ&#8217;s lawsuit against SpaceX for not hiring enough &#8220;asylum seekers,&#8221; which is what they&#8217;re calling illegal aliens now. And of course, the European Union has about a million of their own issues with SpaceX as well.
The only positive thing to come out of this pathetic meeting at the California Coastal Commission is that it established, by sheer contrast, how useless all of these &#8220;regulators&#8221; and critics really are. They couldn&#8217;t have picked a worse day to hold this hearing. Less than a week later, Elon Musk demonstrated that unlike his critics, his companies are actually accomplishing things. They&#8217;re benefiting humanity in very real and tangible ways. It&#8217;s maybe the least flattering juxtaposition in the history of juxtapositions. On the one hand, you have useless, bitter bureaucrats trying to slow human progress. And on the other hand, you have this:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Starship rocket booster caught by tower <a href="https://t.co/aOQmSkt6YE">pic.twitter.com/aOQmSkt6YE</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1845467052443828579?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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What SpaceX just accomplished will make interplanetary travel — in particular travel to Mars — an order of magnitude cheaper. They proved that they can catch their rocket boosters in-mid air. They also proved that they can precisely land the ship itself in the water. As Elon Musk put it last night, when you can re-use extremely expensive equipment like this, and then rapidly re-deploy it, you make it literally 1,000 times easier and less expensive to colonize a planet like Mars. And when you&#8217;re talking about trillions of dollars, that&#8217;s a big difference. It&#8217;s the difference between colonizing Mars and staying on this planet forever.
The reason Musk&#8217;s critics don&#8217;t care about this is that, when you get down to it, they&#8217;re not just bitter and jealous and unhappy. They&#8217;re also anti-human. They don&#8217;t want humans to colonize another planet anymore than they want humans to have free speech on the internet, or to reproduce above replacement level. Pretty much the only issue these people are passionate about is abortion, because it means fewer humans will exist.
That&#8217;s why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris didn&#8217;t bother to congratulate Elon Musk or SpaceX on their achievement, even though it altered the trajectory of civilization forever. It&#8217;s why they&#8217;re engaging in open lawfare to shut his companies down. These people do not want to save this country, or civilization for that matter. They want to destroy it. And they&#8217;ll complain about any pretext imaginable — whether it&#8217;s &#8220;sonic booms&#8221; or &#8220;launch licenses&#8221; or &#8220;hiring asylum seekers&#8221; — in order to achieve that end.
The only reasonable response is to dismantle the vast web of bureaucratic agencies like the &#8220;California Coastal Commission&#8221; along with the Biden-Harris administration. This election isn&#8217;t really even about Democrat or Republican anymore. It&#8217;s a choice between unimpressive, profoundly cynical bureaucrats, and people who advance civilization in meaningful ways. After what SpaceX accomplished this week, that fundamental distinction is now clear to everyone with an internet connection or a television. That&#8217;s what they&#8217;re actually upset about. And it&#8217;s why, in just a few weeks, there&#8217;s a very good chance they&#8217;re going to lose the power that they never deserved to have in the first place.

Celebrities Attend The 2024 US Open Tennis Championships – Day 14

Why The Left Is Willing To Do Anything They Can To Take Down Elon Musk

Matt Walsh

Opinion

U.S. Air Force

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Monday that if he wins back the presidency this fall, he will create a new reserve component for the U.S. Space Force.
Trump made the remarks while speaking at the National Guard Association of the United States conference in Detroit about national security issues.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724361346607000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1ZhyOQfEkxcMH_D1Ago3CQ">Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.</a>
&#8220;One of my proudest achievements in my first term was to create Space Force, the first new branch of the Armed Forces in over 70 years,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Now that Space Force is up and running, I agree with your leadership &#8230; that the time has come to create a Space National Guard as the primary combat reserve of the U.S. Space Force.&#8221;
&#8220;As president, I will sign historic legislation creating a Space National Guard into law,&#8221; he continued.
&#8220;We will make a historic investment in building a U.S. military for the 21st century, investing heavily in drones, robotics, artificial intelligence, hypersonics,&#8221; he added.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
PRESIDENT TRUMP: &#8220;One of my proudest achievements in my first term was to create SPACE FORCE, the first new branch of the Armed Forces in over 70 years&#8230; Now that Space Force is up and running, I agree with your leadership that the time has come to create a SPACE NATIONAL GUARD… <a href="https://t.co/u9ZQphUzOd">pic.twitter.com/u9ZQphUzOd</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1828141786788716580?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
Trump directed the creation of the U.S. Space Force in 2018 as the sixth branch of the armed forces.
<a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724361346607000&amp;usg=AOvVaw20WW7TctHuJrGIoU7DH97E">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR &#8216;AM I RACIST?&#8217; — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a>
“Space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air, and sea,” Trump said at the time. “We have the Air Force, we’ll have the space force.”
During his speech in Detroit, Trump added that he wants to create a missile defense system around the U.S. that is similar to Israel&#8217;s &#8220;Iron Dome.&#8221;
&#8220;And, we’re going to build a great Iron Dome for missile defense around our nation,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Other countries have said Israel has it. You know, Ronald Reagan wanted this many years ago, but we didn’t have the technology at that point. But now we have the technology.&#8221;

Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Holds Rally In Glendale, Arizona

Trump To Create New Reserve Component For U.S. Military Branch

2024 Election

Military

National Guard

The U.S. Department of Defense is warning Congress of continued military recruitment struggles as the country will enter the new year with its smallest fighting force since before World War II. 
Ashish Vazirani, the Pentagon’s acting undersecretary for personnel and readiness, told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that the Army, Navy, and Air Force missed their 2023 recruitment goals by a combined 41,000 personnel, The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12869575/pentagon-biden-army-navy-marines-space-force-military-recruit-gen-z.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The annual defense authorization bill passed by Congress earlier this week stated that active-duty troops will drop to 1,284,500 in fiscal 2024, which is down by 64,000 troops over the past three years, giving the U.S. military its smallest force since 1940, <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2023/12/14/amid-recruiting-woes-active-duty-end-strength-to-drop-again-in-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Military Times. 
&#8220;That number understates the challenge before us as the services lowered end-strength goals in recent years, in part because of the difficult recruiting environment,” Vazirani said, adding that military recruitment is facing “one of its greatest challenges” since the last declared draft ended in 1973. 
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed his concern over the decreasing military numbers.
“We need a larger force, in every branch. But the reality of recruiting is driving the numbers, not what we actually need,” Wicker told The Military Times. 
Some branches of the armed forces have gone to more extreme lengths recently to boost their recruitment levels. Earlier this year, the Navy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/navy-hires-active-duty-drag-queen-to-combat-sinking-recruitment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made</a> Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, an active-duty sailor and drag queen, one of five Navy Digital Ambassadors in a pilot recruitment program. The Air Force <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/air-force-to-decrease-body-weight-standards-for-entry-as-americans-increasingly-too-fat-to-enlist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made a move</a> in April to recruit more Americans into its ranks by decreasing weight standards. 
The strategies didn’t appear to work, as both the Navy and the Air Force are expected to be down thousands of airmen and sailors from its 2021 numbers. The Army is facing the largest recruitment problem out of the military branches as it’s down over 40,000 troops over the past three years. The Marine Corps, which along with the Space Force met its most recent recruitment goal, is still expected to be down by nearly 9,000 active-duty service members compared to fiscal year 2021. 
The Pentagon is seeking to change the direction of the military&#8217;s poor recruiting numbers by developing a message that &#8220;resonates&#8221; with young Americans, according to Vazirani.
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&#8220;While the picture of the current recruiting environment is acutely difficult, the Defense Department and the military services are working together to resolve issues, improve processes, and expand awareness of the many opportunities military service offers,&#8221; said Vazirani. &#8220;We must reach today&#8217;s youth where they are with a message that resonates with them and motivates them to act.&#8221;

Army Recruitment

Pentagon Warns Of Military’s Dropping Numbers Heading Into 2024 As U.S. Fields Smallest Fighting Force Since Before WWII

Pentagon Warns Of Military's Dropping Numbers Heading Into 2024 As U.S. Fields Smallest Fighting Force Since Before WWII

Marines

Pentagon

U.S. Army

U.S. Military

U.S. Navy

This article is adapted from today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-upholds-law-enabling-tribes-to-bar-non-native-families-from-adopting-native-children" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Supreme Court Upholds Indian Child Welfare Law</a>
On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to a 1978 law that states Native American parents should have priority preference when Native American children are up for adoption. The Law was challenged by several non-Native American families, who argued that Congress had gone outside of its constitutional authority. In a 7-2 vote, the majority opinion was authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett who ruled that, “Congress’s power to legislate with respect to Indians is well established and broad.” President Joe Biden praised the decision, saying, it kept in place &#8220;a vital protection for tribal sovereignty and Native children.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-government-agencies-hit-with-cyberattack-chinese-spies-breach-hundreds-of-networks-reports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal Agencies Hacked</a>
Several U.S. federal government agencies were effectively hacked due to a vulnerability in a widely used software called “MOVEit.”  The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency confirmed to CNN that it “is providing support to several federal agencies that have experienced intrusions.” It’s unclear who is responsible for the attack.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/human-brains-skin-from-harvard-morgue-sold-on-black-market-feds-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harvard Morgue Manager Accused Of Selling Body Parts</a>
Several people are accused of stealing and selling human remains from Harvard Medical School’s morgue.
A grand jury has indicted the morgue manager, 55-year-old Cedric Lodge, in the criminal plot, which, according to the complaint, lasted from 2018 to earlier this year. The federal complaint was filed in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where one of the defendants lives. Lodge allegedly allowed buyers to come into the morgue and pick and choose what remains they wanted to buy. He also allegedly stole parts of donated cadavers including brains, skin, and bones, took them home to his New Hampshire residence, and shipped them to buyers by mail. Six other people, including Lodge’s wife Denise Lodge and a mortician from Arkansas, have all been charged in the scheme.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/space-force-general-admits-shed-prioritize-gender-surgery-access-over-qualified-officers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Space Force General Admits She’d Prioritize Gender Surgery Access Over Qualified Officers</a>
Space Force Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt is under fire for admitting during a recent Department of Defense Pride event that she would allow access to “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/missouri-governor-signs-bills-banning-transgender-treatments-for-minors-protecting-womens-sports">gender-affirming care</a>” to take priority over qualifications when deciding where to assign officers. 
Burt has gone viral in a video this week in which she explains how she handles several states that have passed laws <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nebraska-becomes-18th-state-to-ban-transgender-surgeries-on-children">banning transgender surgeries</a> — and in some cases, puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors. In the speech, Burt states that while she would normally consider job performance and qualifications before selecting officers for certain jobs, she also has had to consider whether her troops and their families would be comfortable taking jobs in certain states.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The <a href="https://twitter.com/DeptofDefense?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeptofDefense</a> &quot;pride&quot; event last week gets more bizarre with scrutiny. 
Thread:
1. Here, LTG Burt openly admits she lets supposed concerns over &quot;anti-LGBTQ+ laws in a state&quot; about &quot;healthcare&quot; dictate personnel choices, even if it means choosing a less-qualified officer. <a href="https://t.co/O5zc2yku9P">pic.twitter.com/O5zc2yku9P</a>
&mdash; William Thibeau (@WilliamThibeau) <a href="https://twitter.com/WilliamThibeau/status/1668979208016494592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Rand Paul Plays Hardball For COVID Docs
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky vowed on Thursday to block all nominees and legislation in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions until key documents related to COVID and its origins are released. 
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Until such time as the majority decides it would like to cooperate with me in a bipartisan fashion to obtain the COVID documents necessary to conduct oversight, I will object to every piece of legislation and nominee coming out of this committee. <a href="https://t.co/stFn9SWtqU">pic.twitter.com/stFn9SWtqU</a>
&mdash; Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRandPaul/status/1669352798411182081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-to-buy-iron-dome-air-defense-system-from-israel/#:~:text=The%20Bundestag's%20budget%20committee%20released,Israel%2Dmade%20air%20defense%20system.&amp;text=BERLIN%20%E2%80%94%20Germany%20has%20the%20green,get%20its%20own%20Iron%20Dome." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Germany Getting Its Own &#8216;Iron Dome&#8217;</a>
The<a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-to-buy-iron-dome-air-defense-system-from-israel/"> nation of Germany</a> is moving ahead to purchase new technology similar to Israel&#8217;s “Iron Dome” defense system. The Budget Committee of Germany’s National Parliament released its initial payment of €560 million toward the purchase of the Israel-made Arrow-3 air defense system. The purchase is part of the European country&#8217;s  €100 billion defense upgrade.
To listen to the audio version of this podcast, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.

Concord, NH – June 14: Former Harvard Medical School morgue manager Cedric Lodge, 55, shields his face with a printout of the indictment against him as he walked from the Warren B. Rudman United States Courthouse, following his arrest on charges related to an alleged scheme to steal and sell donated body parts.

Thursday Afternoon Update: Harvard’s Alleged Morgue Marauder, Rand Paul Plays Hardball For COVID Docs, Germany Getting Its Own ‘Iron Dome’

Thursday Afternoon Update: Harvard's Alleged Morgue Marauder, Rand Paul Plays Hardball For Covid Docs, Germany Getting Its Own 'Iron Dome'

Germany

Harvard

Morning Wire

Podcast

Rand Paul

Supreme Court

United States Space Force Lt. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt admitted during a recent Department of Defense (DoD) LGBTQ+ PRIDE event that she would allow access to &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/missouri-governor-signs-bills-banning-transgender-treatments-for-minors-protecting-womens-sports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gender-affirming care</a>&#8221; to take priority over qualifications when assigning officers.
Burt referenced several states that have passed laws <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nebraska-becomes-18th-state-to-ban-transgender-surgeries-on-children" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banning transgender surgeries</a> — and in some cases, puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones — for minors, and said that while she would normally consider job performance and qualifications before selecting officers for certain jobs, she had to also consider whether her troops and their families would feel safe in those assignments.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The <a href="https://twitter.com/DeptofDefense?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeptofDefense</a> &quot;pride&quot; event last week gets more bizarre with scrutiny. 
Thread:
1. Here, LTG Burt openly admits she lets supposed concerns over &quot;anti-LGBTQ+ laws in a state&quot; about &quot;healthcare&quot; dictate personnel choices, even if it means choosing a less-qualified officer. <a href="https://t.co/O5zc2yku9P">pic.twitter.com/O5zc2yku9P</a>
&mdash; William Thibeau (@WilliamThibeau) <a href="https://twitter.com/WilliamThibeau/status/1668979208016494592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Transformational cultural change requires leadership from the top, and we do not have time to wait,&#8221; Burt began. &#8220;Since January of this year, more than 400 anti-LGBTQ+ laws have been introduced at the state level. That number is rising and demonstrates a trend that could be dangerous for service members, their families, and the readiness of the force as a whole.&#8221;
&#8220;When I look at potential candidates, say for Squadron command, I strive to match the right person to the right job,&#8221; she continued, adding, &#8220;I consider their job performance and relevant experience first. However, I also look at their personal circumstances, and their family is also an important factor. If a good match for a job does not feel safe being themselves and performing at their highest potential at a given location, or if their family could be denied critical health care due to the laws in that state, I am compelled to consider a different candidate, perhaps less qualified.&#8221;
Space Force veteran Lt. Col Matt Lohmeier — who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/space-force-officer-fired-for-blasting-marxism-in-military-we-were-taught-whites-inherently-evil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">relieved of command</a> after he said on a conservative podcast that Marxism was infiltrating the U.S. military — argued in a tweet that Burt had actually done what he was fired for doing.
&#8220;I was once fired from command in the @SpaceForceDoD for allegedly &#8216;being politically partisan while acting in an official capacity.&#8217; That allegation was totally false,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Lt. Gen. Burt here demonstrates what being politically partisan while acting in an official capacity really looks like.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I was once fired from command in the <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceForceDoD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceForceDoD</a> for allegedly “being politically partisan while acting in an official capacity.” That allegation was totally false. 
Lt Gen Burt here demonstrates what being politically partisan while acting in an official capacity really… <a href="https://t.co/cghkdMhsFn">https://t.co/cghkdMhsFn</a>
&mdash; Matt Lohmeier 🇺🇸 (@matthewlohmeier) <a href="https://twitter.com/matthewlohmeier/status/1669092020789612544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Burt&#8217;s comments suggest that the Defense Department — or at least the U.S. Space Force — is leaning into politics in a way that could potentially be more damaging to overall force readiness if she is truly willing to consider a service member&#8217;s access to transgender surgeries and hormones at a given duty station over their fitness for that particular job.
In the U.S. Army&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.army.mil/values/soldiers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Soldier&#8217;s Creed</a>,&#8221; one line reads, &#8220;I will always place the mission first.&#8221; Burt&#8217;s statement suggests that catering to the LGBTQ+ community comes first, and the &#8220;mission&#8221; is secondary.

US-NEWS-MO-TRANSGENDER-HEALTHCARE-KC

Space Force General Admits She’d Prioritize Gender Surgery Access Over Qualified Officers

Space Force General Admits She'd Prioritize Gender Surgery Access Over Qualified Officers

Pride

Transgender

Astronomers believe the green laser beams spotted over the Hawaiian Islands last month came from a Chinese satellite.
The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) said in a January 30 tweet that the space agency’s Subaru-Asahi Star Camera on Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii captured green laser lights in the cloudy sky over Maunakea, Hawai’i.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
On Jan 28, 2023, HST, Subaru-Asahi Star Camera captured green laser lights in the cloudy sky over Maunakea, Hawai`i. The lights are thought to be from a remote-sensing altimeter satellite ICESAT-2/43613. Watch the video:<a href="https://t.co/xqoJvSa24s">https://t.co/xqoJvSa24s</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SubaruTelescope?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SubaruTelescope</a> <a href="https://t.co/5hhIsewuNp">pic.twitter.com/5hhIsewuNp</a>
&mdash; Subaru Telescope Eng (@SubaruTel_Eng) <a href="https://twitter.com/SubaruTel_Eng/status/1620210575111327745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Although the agency initially believed the lights came from a NASA remote-sensing altimeter satellite known as an ICESAT-2/43613, which <a href="https://www.cnet.com/science/space/those-weird-green-space-lights-over-hawaii-didnt-come-from-nasa/">CNET</a> described as NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 that shoots lasers at Earth to measure the surface of the planet.
Officials corrected the original statement on February 6, saying NASA scientists “did a simulation of the trajectory of satellites that have a similar instrument and found a most likely candidate as the ACDL instrument by the Chinese Daqi-1/AEMS satellite.”
“We really appreciate their efforts in the identification of the light,” NAOJ wrote. “We are sorry about our confusion related to this event and its potential impact on the ICESat-2 team.”
The University of Hawaii, Institute of Astronomy’s Roy Gal told <a href="https://ktla.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/chinese-satellite-beams-green-lasers-over-hawaii/">KHON2</a> the beams came from a Chinese satellite that measures pollutants, “among other things.”
“It has many different instruments on it … Some kind of topographical mapping or they’re also used for measuring stuff in Earth’s atmosphere, and I think that’s what it is, environmental measurement satellite.”
Gal added the U.S. has satellites performing the same tasks.
Still, China’s spacecraft does not pose a risk to the islands or locals as tensions between the U.S. and China rise amid spy satellites and other devices owned by the Chinese regime entering U.S. air space, which has prompted the deployment of U.S. military fighter jets several times to strike down the objects.
“No, it’s not a risk to Hawaii or anyplace else, too,” Gal said. ”We have aircraft making these measurements all the time. If you’ve seen topographical maps with high precision, those are made using sometimes this kind of thing.”
Ray L’Heureux, a former chief of staff of Marine Forces Pacific, told the news outlet aired a different opinion surrounding the laser beams.
“I’m not sure, and this is my opinion, why the Chinese — who are probably some of the most prolific polluters on the planet — would be collecting data on pollutants on this side of the Pacific,” L’Heureux said.
L’Heureux noted that due to the tensions between the U.S. and China, “people are a little antsy, and I think we just need to be a little bit more aware, vigilant.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="A Rare View of the Green Laser Scan from the Space 2023-1-28 UT / 稀な宇宙からのレーザースキャンシーンを捉えた！マウナケアからの風景" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vn_PMiND4Yw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Stargazing

Astronomers Say Chinese Satellite Beamed Green Lasers Over Hawaii

China

Hawaii

NASA

A U.S. Space Force unit has been launched in South Korea as the nation seeks to increase its ability to monitor threats from North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un and others in the region.
The activation of the unit at Osan Air Base near Seoul follows a number of missile launch tests by North Korea which could be capable of striking the U.S. and its allies.
“Today marks the next milestone in strengthening our ironclad commitment to the U.S.-Korean alliance,” Lt. Col. Joshua McCullion, commander of the new unit, said in a <a href="https://www.usfk.mil/Media/Press-Products/Press-Releases/Article/3245492/space-force-activates-component-field-command-for-us-forces-korea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “Our U.S. and Republic of Korea alliance was forged more than 70 years ago, as we stood shoulder-to-shoulder in war. With the world around us evolving, so, too, must we.”
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Our presence around the globe continues to grow! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PartnersinSpace?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PartnersinSpace</a> <a href="https://t.co/Xgt690fANE">https://t.co/Xgt690fANE</a>
&mdash; United States Space Force (@SpaceForceDoD) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceForceDoD/status/1603025013837369344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Gen. Paul LaCamera, the U.S. Forces Korea commander, presided over the ceremony to inaugurate the new operation.
“The activation here today of U.S. Space Forces Korea, a subcomponent of U.S. Space Forces INDOPACOM, enhances our ability to defend the homelands and ensures peace and security on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia,&#8221; LaCamera said.
The Space Force mission will focus on missile warning operations, according to the unit&#8217;s description, which provides &#8220;in-theater near-real-time detection&#8221; and will warn of ballistic missile launches.
“Just 48 miles north of us exists an existential threat; a threat that we must be prepared to deter, defend against, and – if required – defeat,” McCullion said.
The announcement of a stronger U.S. presence in South Korea comes just weeks after the U.S. and South Korea fired several missiles in October following North Korea’s firing of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-and-south-korea-use-militaries-to-respond-to-north-korea-firing-missile-over-japan-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ballistic missile</a> over Japan.
The Japanese government broadcast a warning after the missile launch. The missile eventually flew beyond Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. It marked the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nkorea-fires-missile-towards-east-skorea-military-2022-10-03/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fifth</a> missile launch in the 10-day period and was the 23rd launch since the start of the year.
In addition to ongoing threats from North Korea, the new U.S. Space Force unit will be located closer to China. The communist nation recently revealed its latest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/milley-confirms-china-indeed-fired-hypersonic-missiles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hypersonic weapon</a> technology.
The new unit also positions the U.S. closer to Russia, whose anti-satellite technology could pose a threat to American military technologies. As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/space-is-a-warfighting-domain-u-s-space-force-activates-new-unit-within-branch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, Russia has jammed GPS signals throughout its conflict with Ukraine, targeting the U.S. military&#8217;s Navstar system of satellites.
In November 2021, the U.S. also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-rips-russia-for-missile-test-that-forced-space-station-astronauts-to-scramble-for-shelter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> Russia for conducting an anti-satellite missile test, which sent debris flying and prompted astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) to take refuge in their spacecraft.
“Russia has demonstrated a deliberate disregard for the security, safety, stability, and long-term sustainability of the space domain for all nations,” U.S. Army Gen. James Dickinson, U.S. Space Command commander, said in a <a href="https://www.spacecom.mil/Newsroom/News/Article-Display/Article/2842957/russian-direct-ascent-anti-satellite-missile-test-creates-significant-long-last/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CRussia%20has%20demonstrated%20a%20deliberate,Dickinson%2C%20U.S.%20Space%20Command%20commander." target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol <a href="https://www.stripes.com/branches/space_force/2022-12-14/space-force-command-south-korea-8415014.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> during a speech last month that he would “expand space security cooperation” with other countries, including the U.S. The nation continues to move forward with other plans for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/spacex-prepares-to-launch-first-private-japanese-mission-to-moon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">space exploration</a> as well, including a robotic moon landing in 2032 and an unmanned mission to Mars in 2045.
The Space Force was authorized in 2019 by then-President Donald Trump, creating the first new military service since the Army Air Corps officially became the U.S. Air Force in 1947.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and Central Command set up space units last month in Hawaii and Florida, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-forces-launch-space-unit-south-korea-amid-norths-growing-threats-2022-12-14/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> Reuters.

Space Force

U.S. Space Force Launches Unit In South Korea As Northern Tensions Grow

North Korea

South Korea

World

Now we&#8217;re cooking with oil. The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/military" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United States</a> Space Force <a href="https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article/3163735/space-force-reveals-official-song-semper-supra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> its official song on Tuesday, and it should rev the engines of any red-blooded <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/american-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American</a> patriot.
Not only is it a great new tradition in our nation&#8217;s military history, but it also proves that critics of former President Donald Trump were embarrassingly wrong about his vision for the country — yet again.
The song, named after Space Force&#8217;s motto — &#8220;Semper Supra,&#8221; or &#8220;Always Above&#8221; — was <a href="https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article/3163735/space-force-reveals-official-song-semper-supra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> during the 2022 Air &amp; Space Forces Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, according to a press release from the U.S. Air Force. Semper Supra was co-created by James Teachenor, a former member of the U.S. Air Force band at the Air Force Academy.
&#8220;The song was a long work in progress because I wanted it to encompass all the capabilities that the Space Force offers and its vision,&#8221; Teachenor said.
Chief of Space Operations General John &#8220;Jay&#8221; Raymond assisted in the development of the new battle hymn after former President Donald Trump created Space Force.
&#8220;This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish a Space Force song that will be part of our culture and heritage for years to come,&#8221; Raymond said. &#8220;Our traditions are part of the fabric that weave us all together as we execute our missions side-by-side; I will be proud to sing &#8216;Semper Supra&#8217; alongside my fellow Guardians.&#8221;
For cynics, it sounds silly, but stuff like this matters for the nation&#8217;s morale and self-esteem. Advancing the idea of American Exceptionalism is a noble one. It is important that we pass on to the next generation of Americans the notion that our country has done, can do, and will do great things that better mankind.
It is even better when those ideals are represented in institutions — such as with battle hymns for each nation&#8217;s military branch.
Beyond that, critics should remember that Trump was practically laughed out the door by Democrats, media, and Never Trumpers alike when he first suggested the very idea of Space Force. Then, he signed it into law. Netflix and Steve Carrell made a mediocre parody show about it. Even as it was working its way through the official process of becoming established, former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki made a sarcastic remark about.
In February 2021, a reporter <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/psaki-refuses-to-apologize-for-remarks-about-space-force-gives-false-impression-she-already-did-so" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> Psaki about the future Space Force, including whether President Joe Biden wanted to keep it.
“Wow. Space Force. It’s the plane of today,” Psaki responded arrogantly. “It is an interesting question. I am happy to check with our Space Force point of contact. I’m not sure who that is. I will find out and see if we have any update on that.”
In response, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), the House Armed Services Committee’s top Republican, demanded that Psaki apologize for the remark.
“It’s concerning to see the Biden administration’s press secretary blatantly diminish an entire branch of our military as the punchline of a joke, which I’m sure China would find funny,” Rogers said at the time. “The Space Force was passed with near unanimous support in Congress, the same type of ‘unity’ President Biden is supposedly working towards. Jen Psaki needs to immediately apologize to the men and women of the Space Force for this disgraceful comment.”
Of course, Americans now know that that &#8220;unity&#8221; was a farce. Biden considers MAGA Republicans, or a large portion of the country, to be threats to democracy itself. In the end, though, Trump has the last laugh as Space Force not only exists today, but has its very own hymn to go with it.
The song can be heard here:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The moment you&#39;ve all been waiting for: The Space Force has unveiled its official song <a href="https://t.co/v6CG3I4sYD">pic.twitter.com/v6CG3I4sYD</a>
&mdash; Dave Brown (@dave_brown24) <a href="https://twitter.com/dave_brown24/status/1572217257199128577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The official lyrics are as follows:
<blockquote>SEMPER SUPRA 
The Official U.S. Space Force Song
 
We’re the mighty watchful eye, 
 Guardians beyond the blue, 
 The invisible front line, 
 Warfighters brave and true. 
 Boldly reaching into space, 
 There&#8217;s no limit to our sky. 
 Standing guard both night and day, 
 We&#8217;re the Space Force from on high.</blockquote>
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

LISTEN: Space Force Reveals Official Song. It’s Pretty Sweet.

LISTEN: Space Force Reveals Official Song

Music

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/space-force">United States Space Force</a> announced that the military branch will forego annual fitness assessments and instead wear fitness devices tracking the guardians’ physical and mental health beginning in 2023.
Guardians have undergone an annual fitness assessment similar to Air Force members. But now, with the new approach, guardians will wear a smart ring or other wearable fitness devices, likely manufactured by Garmin and Oura.
The new method could change how military leaders evaluate service members in the future while still adhering to high performance levels.
&#8220;This program will promote not just physical fitness,&#8221; Patricia Mulcahy, the Space Force deputy chief of space operations for personnel, <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/08/02/space-force-ditches-fitness-tests-members-will-wear-trackers/">wrote</a> in a memo reviewed by NPR. &#8220;It will pair fitness with robust education on diet, sleep hygiene, and other physiological factors to promote social, mental and spiritual health as well.&#8221;
Chief Master Sergeant James Seballes, senior enlisted leader for Space Force&#8217;s Training and Readiness Command, told <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/22/1113067616/the-newest-branch-of-the-military-is-taking-a-different-approach-to-fitness">NPR</a> that the devices would not only maintain fitness goals, but the technology would also offer more analysis of the guardians&#8217; activity.
&#8220;Our standards really haven&#8217;t changed, right? We still are utilizing the Air Force [physical training] standards,&#8221; Seballes. &#8220;The difference is in our approach.&#8221;
He said fitness has often been used as a &#8220;go, no-go kind of thing.&#8221;
&#8220;You either have it, or you don&#8217;t,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve known folks that can do all their [physical training] aspects and run a really fast mile and a half, but yet their eating habits are poor.&#8221;
&#8220;Their sleeping habits are poor. They&#8217;re not healthy,&#8221; Seballes added.
Patrick Hitchins, CEO of Austin-based FitRankings, which is building that platform for the Space Force, told NPR the tests have some dimensionality that favors one activity over others.
Maj. Gen. Shawn Bratton, commander of Space Training and Readiness Command, said, according to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11074111/Space-Force-scraps-annual-fitness-tests-guardians.html">Daily Mail</a>, that he favors the modern digital approach, believing that it might encourage service members to take care of their health more.
&#8220;There&#8217;s increased responsibility on me, not just once a year to take a fitness test, for example, but maybe to exercise 90 minutes a week,&#8221; Bratton told NPR. &#8220;The ring helps me keep track of that as well as my sleep patterns.&#8221;
NPR reports the decision to change the branch’s fitness model comes after research showed some military members developed eating disorders or other behaviors depleting their health.
Lindsay Bodell, assistant professor of psychology at Western University in Ontario, told NPR that service members who fail to meet the military requirements could lead to unhealthy and extreme behaviors.
&#8220;Some of the negative consequences might just be kind of preoccupation with certain exercise regimes or fixation on numbers,&#8221; Bodell said. &#8220;Which could end up getting in the way of other activities.&#8221;
Until the new health assessment model replaces the old next year, the latest branch of the military&#8217;s 8,400 members must undergo one minute of pushups, situps, and a timed 1.5-mile run.

SpaceX and U.S. Space Force compound in Florida

U.S. Space Force To Forego Guardians’ Annual Fitness Tests, New Method Introduced

U.S. Space Force To Forego Guardians' Annual Fitness Tests, New Method Introduced

Health

Mental Health

With <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china">China</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/russia">Russia</a> orbiting threats on U.S. space assets and national security, America&#8217;s sixth and newest branch of the military activated a new unit within the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/space-force">Space Force</a>.
Space Delta 18, a moniker given to the unit in honor of the military branch officially becoming the 18th member of the U.S. Intelligence Community last year, launched during a ceremony last week at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Guardians within the unit have taken on the responsibility of delivering critical intelligence on threat systems, foreign intentions, and activities in the space domain.
&#8220;Make no mistake,&#8221; United States <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/director-of-national-intelligence">Director of National Intelligence</a> Avril Haines <a href="https://www.space.com/space-force-delta-18-threats-orbit?utm_campaign=socialflow">said</a> at the Delta 18 ceremony. &#8220;Space is a warfighting domain today, and an ever-increasingly contested one at that.” She added that she cannot stress enough the importance of Space Force intelligence for America&#8217;s national security.
Haines <a href="https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/news-articles/news-articles-2022/item/2304-dni-haines-speaks-at-the-activation-of-the-national-space-intelligence-center">said</a> the Intelligence Center would position itself to support the U.S. and its allies in space at &#8220;an absolutely critical moment in the history of space development.&#8221;
&#8220;In the years ahead, the environment will only become more contested,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And as we move forward, [the center] will be relied upon to produce and analyze scientific and technical intelligence related to space for the entire nation.&#8221;
Haines recognized the possible threats to the space domain, including those posed by China and Russia as they develop, test, and field counterspace weapons, an official statement reads.
Recent reports show both China and Russia have used anti-satellite capabilities. Earlier this year, a telescope observed a defunct <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44054/a-chinese-satellite-just-grappled-another-and-pulled-it-out-of-orbit">Chinese</a> navigation satellite get pulled out of its normal orbit into a &#8220;super-graveyard drift orbit,&#8221; which raised questions about how the Chinese maneuver the satellites closer to others. Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.space.com/russia-jamming-gps-signals-ukraine">Russia</a> has jammed GPS signals throughout its conflict with Ukraine, targeting the United State&#8217;s Navstar system of satellites.
President Trump took the nation by surprise when he announced the creation of the Space Force in 2018. While many were confused by its purpose, it would serve as he intended — to preserve and protect America&#8217;s satellites and vehicles in space for international communication and observation.
&#8220;It is not merely enough that we have American presence in space,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;We must have American dominance in space.&#8221;
Haines named Col. Marqus D. Randall the new commander of Space Delta 18, and said his &#8220;gifted leadership&#8221; would help the nation and its allies make better decisions about space.
Military officials said 345 civilian and military personnel would eventually staff the new command unit.

‘Space Is A Warfighting Domain’: U.S. Space Force Activates New Unit Within Branch 

‘Space Delta 18’: U.S. Space Force Activates New Unit Within Branch

Russia