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[Reelya]

Is Trump right that you guys need space marines?

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/01/politics/trump-space-force-us-military/index.html

[smjjames]

I guess there could be a 'space force' in the sense of having a rapid deployment vehicle that goes into space to deploy troops in a fraction of the time it would otherwise take. I don't think we'll see people actually shooting it out with each other in microgravity a la Space Marines (in the more general Sci-Fi concept, not the WH40k ones) anytime soon.

Also, I saw your pre-edit post saying it'd be a space navy, I think we should break from the whole 'space is an ocean' trope and give it a naming convention and rank system of it's own.

[Trekkin]

Is Trump right that you guys need space marines?

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/01/politics/trump-space-force-us-military/index.html

No, although I have no doubt that's what he thinks he's trying to take credit for. The actual proposal is somewhat more grounded (ha!) and mostly concerns better satellite infrastructure.

[Culise]

I guess there could be a 'space force' in the sense of having a rapid deployment vehicle that goes into space to deploy troops in a fraction of the time it would otherwise take. I don't think we'll see people actually shooting it out with each other in microgravity a la Space Marines (in the more general Sci-Fi concept, not the WH40k ones) anytime soon.

Also, I saw your pre-edit post saying it'd be a space navy, I think we should break from the whole 'space is an ocean' trope and give it a naming convention and rank system of it's own.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

But to be fair, making up random ranks is hard.  Even in the air force for many countries, they're pretty obviously derived from or even identical to the army.  The only reason the navy gets away with using ground-derived ranks is because their terms are so old the etymology is all but forgotten.  Setting aside tropes entirely, if you want long-duration operations at the end of a long logistical tether, I think you could do worse than talking to the navy.  Otherwise, the air force in the US already operates the primary space force for the US at present. 

Though, on a slightly-related note, I do hope that China gives at least part of their space force over to their naval aviation wing.  Then, they can have the People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force Space Force. 

[misko27]

Is Trump right that you guys need space marines?

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/01/politics/trump-space-force-us-military/index.html

I remember when they mentioned that last year or something.

I'm still in favor, frankly. The Air Force should focus on its mission (whatever that is...), and perhaps more importantly, space does not have air, so what the hell? More seriously, a spaceforce would do a good job of drawing attention to the fact that space exists and deserves funding, which would serve the dual role of keeping up in the space race, and lay the groundwork for commercial activities (since commercial activities always follow military ones).

[smjjames]

Is Trump right that you guys need space marines?

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/01/politics/trump-space-force-us-military/index.html

I remember when they mentioned that last year or something.

I'm still in favor, frankly. The Air Force should focus on its mission (whatever that is...), and perhaps more importantly, space does not have air, so what the hell? More seriously, a spaceforce would do a good job of drawing attention to the fact that space exists and deserves funding, which would serve the dual role of keeping up in the space race, and lay the groundwork for commercial activities (since commercial activities always follow military ones).

It's not going to be a bunch of people with guns romping around in space though, as Trump most likely thinks it is.

[wierd]

This is the USA. We just need space heretics that love abortion, outlawed guns, and are openly atheist. We can swing a good portion of the populace to support bonafide spacemarines proper then.

[Reelya]

Also, I saw your pre-edit post saying it'd be a space navy, I think we should break from the whole 'space is an ocean' trope and give it a naming convention and rank system of it's own.

Well yeah, I read the part where they were saying the space force was going to be under air force jurisdiction, like the marines are under the navy, so space marines seemed more fitting than space navy. The space marines concept works because you have vessels and deployable troops.

[Trekkin]

This is the USA. We just need space heretics that love abortion, outlawed guns, and are openly atheist. We can swing a good portion of the populace to support bonafide spacemarines proper then.

Were it not for the liberal tendency to make the perfect the enemy of the good, I'd agree. And then hide in a bunker as the rest of the population attempted to shoot down the space force with their handguns.

This is, as you say, the USA.

(just to be clear, the second sentence there is sarcastic.)

[Max™]

The "nuclear focusing" concepts you are talking about are the realm of science fiction. Little, if any, of it has been demonstrated experimentally, and the sources you speak of are little more than conspiracy theories.

If this were true then it would literally invalidate the theoretical explanation behind every successful Teller-Ulam design test, wouldn't it?

[wierd]

This is the USA. We just need space heretics that love abortion, outlawed guns, and are openly atheist. We can swing a good portion of the populace to support bonafide spacemarines proper then.

Were it not for the liberal tendency to make the perfect the enemy of the good, I'd agree. And then hide in a bunker as the rest of the population attempted to shoot down the space force with their handguns.

This is, as you say, the USA.

(just to be clear, the second sentence there is sarcastic.)

"Support our Troops!(tm)"

[Trekkin]

The "nuclear focusing" concepts you are talking about are the realm of science fiction. Little, if any, of it has been demonstrated experimentally, and the sources you speak of are little more than conspiracy theories.

If this were true then it would literally invalidate the theoretical explanation behind every successful Teller-Ulam design test, wouldn't it?

Lord Shonus may be thinking of Casaba Howitzer specifically here, which tends to be described as a nuclear shaped charge but is, like the Teller-Ulam spark plug, reliant on shaping the radiation front rather than the blast.

EDIT: The same basic principle is behind any nuclear weapon with a neutron reflector, come to think of it.

[Kagus]

Was about to post the Bornstein Bare regarding Trump's health report, but I see that it's already been handled. And yeah, while a pretty neat accusation, I question the truthiness of the good doctor.

But we can all trust the truthiness of Kanye Everywhere, especially when interviewed on TMZ. TL;DR: He makes a comment implying that African slaves chose to remain enslaved after being brought to the US, which is the only reason slavery continued for as long as it did.

He really does work in mysterious ways, that fellow...

[Starver]

I question the truthiness of the good doctor.

Does it matter if the Doc is telling the truth about the letter being untrue or is just untrue about things in general (including in the letter itself)? It'd be nice to see proof of the strongarmed removal of relevant paperwork (it'd somewhat mesh with Stormy's reported experience) and learn how typical or atypical that is of any president elect. As is the general dodginess of doctors associated with the certification of Trump vs those who covered (or covered up, in the case of Regan?) others in the post.


The trouble is, this isn't even a shocker. Gone are the days when "Shock, horror! Politician does not give up his seat for an elderly lady!" was the kind of thing (with anything that has since post-hoc damaged their historic reputation being well contained). This one tends to have fling his muck about like a hippo, and get the response "well, he's a hippo, what do you expect?" from those who like the hippo for whatever reason and those who generally despair of him alike.

[martinuzz]

So apparently the health report about Trump's amazing good health was completely fake.
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/01/politics/harold-bornstein-trump-letter/index.html