Ready for Space Marines? U.S. Marine Corps Launches Space Command

While we don’t anticipate sending Marines on combat missions to space anytime soon, the U.S. Marine Corps has officially created a new Marine Corps Forces Space Command (MARFORSPACE). This new command will report to the recently activated U.S. Space Command, which was created in 2019, along with President Trump’s new military service, the U.S. Space Force.

The Marine Times reported that as part of Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger’s bold new vision for the Corps, he directed the activation of Marine Corps Forces Space Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, on Oct. 1^st.

According to the official press release, the Marines in the new command “will focus on providing space operational support to the Fleet Marine Force while building a convergence capability to increase warfighter lethality,” noted the Times.  MARFORSPACE will consist of space-focused Marines formally assigned to Marine Corps Forces Strategic Command (MARFORSTRAT).

Maj. Gen. Matthew Glavy and will lead the new command which consists of space-focused Marines who were formally assigned to Marine Corps Forces Strategic Command, according to the release. Highlighting the close ties between cyber warfare and the space domain, Glavy will continue to lead the Marine Forces Cyber Command in addition to the newly created, but totally separate, MARFORSPACE.

“We have an incredible opportunity to create a synergy across the information environment based on our unique position within the naval and joint force,” Glavy said in the release. He added, “Space and cyber are critical capabilities in the information environment that, when brought together, can provide a competitive advantage.”

But the Marines have already been integrating space into their regular military operations. In September, an officer from the country’s youngest military branch, the Space Force, made history when she joined a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) for the first time, noted the Marine Times.

The officer, assigned to the 16th Space Control Squadron, is the Space Force liaison officer tasked with assessing and enhancing the MEU’s “space capabilities,” the release said. Maybe Space Marines are not that far off after all.

AAN Staff