For the military personnel of the US Space Forces, they have chosen a new name - now they will be called "guards".

This was stated by US Vice President Mike Pence during a ceremony in the White House to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of this service.

“I am honored, on behalf of the President of the United States, to announce that men and women serving in the US Space Force will henceforth be called Guardians.

Soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and space guards will protect our country for generations to come, ”said Pence.

Users of social networks noted that this name is reminiscent of the series of sci-fi comics and superhero films "Guardians of the Galaxy".

The US Space Forces in their official Twitter account, in turn, said that this name was chosen from hundreds of proposals and polls that took place both among the military personnel and ordinary Americans.

“Giving a name to a branch of the armed forces is an incredibly responsible task.

Spaceguards is a name that has long existed in the history of space operations.

It refers to the original 1983 United States Air Force Space Command motto: Guardians of the High Frontier.

The name “Spaceguards” connects our great heritage and culture with an important mission that we carry out twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, protecting the citizens and interests of the United States and its allies, ”the statement said.

Cosmic forces

It is worth noting that the American media call the creation of the US Space Force one of the main military achievements of the Donald Trump administration.

The sixth type of the US Armed Forces was established by presidential decree in 2019.

This is the first new type of troops that has appeared in the country since the late 1940s, when the Air Force was separated into a separate type.

Back in 2018, Trump talked about plans to create space-oriented troops and make them completely independent, but this idea was realized only a year later.

  • US Vice President Mike Pence

  • Reuters

  • © Leah Millis

In addition, in the same 2019, Trump established the Space Development Agency (SDA) and the SPACECOM Space Command - the first combat command formed since 2009.

It included 87 units dealing with missile warning, satellite operations, and space control and support.

The Space Force and SPACECOM were led by General John Raymond.

The United States Space Forces is under the authority of the civilian secretary of the Air Force and has a similar status to the Marine Corps, which is also a separate branch of the military and has its own commander as chief of staff, while reporting to the Department of the Navy.

Despite its name, the new type of troops so far is exclusively engaged in the launch of military satellites.

The first operation by the Space Force took place in March 2020 and was the launch of a military communications satellite of the AEHF system.

The first offensive weapon these troops received was the Counter Communications System Block 10.2 anti-satellite jammer.

From Reagan to Trump

Recall that on December 9, the new US National Space Strategy was announced.

According to her, interstellar space is regarded as a potential theater of military operations between the United States and its adversaries, and America must be ready to face the need to repel aggression in space.

In accordance with the new document, the United States "will promote its national interests in space and become a leader in a new era of permanent human presence in space - on the Moon, Mars - and beyond."

  • SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon launch, May 30, 2020

  • Reuters

  • © Steve Nesius

The strategy also emphasizes that near-Earth space may become a potential area of ​​warfare due to rival powers with the United States who want to challenge the American side.

Which countries the White House considers as space rivals is not specified in the doctrine.

At the same time, in July, the Pentagon released its own Space Defense Strategy, in which Russia and China, as expected, were named as the countries posing the main threat to the US national interests in outer space.

Despite constant accusations from the American side, official Moscow has repeatedly noted that it has called on Western countries to prevent the transformation of near-Earth space into an arena for a new arms race.

So, in February of this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that the plans of the United States, France, and NATO in general to put weapons into space are acquiring more and more real outlines.

Experts note that by choosing a bright name for employees of the Space Forces, which is associated with science fiction films, the United States wants to demonstrate the development of its capabilities and readiness to militarize space in information and political terms.

“The militarization of outer space by the United States has acquired a certain political symbolism.

There is no doubt that the new type of American Armed Forces will participate in the military exploration of interstellar space, "Andrei Koshkin, a member of the Academy of Military Sciences, said in an interview with RT.

“Washington aims to conquer outer space to expand control over the situation on Earth.

To realize his plan, the rationale in the information space for the layman is “aggression” from Russia and China, which allegedly also seek to militarize space, as a result of which the United States has to train space guards, ”the political scientist explained.

A similar position is shared by the head of the Center for Military-Political Studies of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Batyuk, who, in a conversation with RT, noted that the new space doctrine was adopted solely for the subsequent increase in the US presence in space and the possible deployment of weapons there.

“Reagan spoke about plans to place weapons in space when he put forward the Strategic Defense Initiative in 1983, and in the future the United States did not abandon this idea.

The near-earth orbit is already an arena of active geopolitical confrontation.

Washington has repeatedly stated that the Russian Federation and the PRC are allegedly developing their anti-satellite weapons, as a result of which the Space Forces were created to confront these powers.

In fact, the American administration is simply trying to justify its course towards the militarization of outer space in this way, ”Batiuk concluded.