Nearly five years ago, President Donald Trump created Space Force, the first new military branch in more than seven decades. Given that it’s been a while since the branch was founded, you would think that the members of Space Force, called Guardians, would have dress uniforms by now. Alas, that is not so.
The wait is getting shorter, though. An Air Force spokesperson recently told Task & Purpose that the Space Force dress uniform would be widely available to the rank and file by December 2025. While military officials still haven’t released the uniform’s final design, one thing appears to be certain: They’re going to boldly go where no man—eh, military branch—has gone before.
What exactly does Space Force do? To be clear, Space Force is kind of used to getting laughed at. It started getting mocked before it became an official branch of the military. When Trump created Space Force in 2019, he stated that space was a matter of national security, calling it “the world's newest war-fighting domain.” The president added that the new military branch would ensure America continued to lead in space.
Space Force is part of the Department of the Air Force but has its own representation on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Notably, it’s not doing anything new. Various military branches already have missions in space.
"It will create a centralized, unified chain of command that is responsible for space, because ultimately when responsibility is fragmented, no one's responsible," Todd Harrison, a former director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, told NPR shortly after the branch became official.
Space Force’s mission is to protect American interests in space. This includes defending the critical space systems used by the U.S. and other countries worldwide. Satellites controlled by the military help provide information so that troops can hit targets accurately and detect missile launches, among other tasks.
Space Force’s Star Trek uniform. Although that work sounds pretty serious, the unveiling of the prototype of the Space Force dress uniform in 2021 was anything but—at least on the civilian side. Considering how the public had previously poked fun at its creation, the name of its members, and its logo, perhaps it was to be expected.
As reported by The New York Times, the uniform’s dark navy coat is meant to represent the vastness of space, and the silver thread on the sleeve braiding is a nod to 21-century futurism. The most eye-catching part of the uniform, the coat's asymmetrical cut with six silver buttons running diagonally down the front, is an ode to the Space Force being the six branch of the military.
When described that way, the design choices make sense. However, a picture is worth a thousand words, and the first thing that people thought of when they saw the Space Force uniforms in 2021 was: sci-fi. In particular, Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica. Take your pick.
Image: Sci Fi
“This look from the military’s newest branch is fabulous in a ‘we just blew up Alderaan’ kind of way. It’s giving us Darth Vader-approved uniformity,” Task & Purpose wrote after the unveiling. “It’s giving us ‘Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side!’-style.”
The New York Post, meanwhile, said “The new ‘guardians’ of our galaxy are sure to live long and prosper from the looks of it.”
“I don’t have any Trekkies in my office.” Despite the similarities, Air Force officials assured media at the time that any similarity to Hollywood’s version of space soldiers was “a coincidence.”
“I don’t have Trekkies in my office,” Tracy Roan, chief of the Air Force Uniform Office, told the Times after the prototype’s unveiling. “The whole asymmetrical design concept has existed in military uniforms since the beginning of time.”
Image: Paramount
Air Force officials added that more than 150 versions of the dress uniform were made before they decided on the prototype, which was presented to a focus group of Guardians. They also pointed out the Space Force jacket was the first one in the history of the military that was designed with the intent to fit a woman appropriately from the start.
No major changes planned. Three years after military officials unveiled the prototype, it seems like it's getting closer to becoming reality. Air Force spokeswoman Sarah Fiocco told Task & Purpose that wear tests had led the Air Force to make changes to the design of the height and coat collar, as well as other minor changes, but nothing substantial.
“There are no major changes in the works for the dress uniform,” Fiocco said. “Development for optional uniform items, such as a pullover sweater, are underway.”
As a sci-fi fan, that's cool. Live long and prosper, Guardians.
Image | United States Space Force
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