Mattis makes it clear -- he now backs Space Force

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis now supports the creation of a Space Force as a sixth branch of the U.S. military, saying recently that his past opposition was based on having not clearly defined the problem.

"I was not going against setting up a Space Force; what I was against was rushing to do that before we define those problems," he told reporters Sunday en route to Brazil.

Now that the Pentagon has studied the issue and released a report to Congress, Mattis said, there is agreement that President Trump's directive to stand up a sixth military service is a wise choice.

Mattis did not share Trump's view, however, in previous memos sent to Capitol Hill. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson also opposed the idea.

But Mattis told reporters Sunday the Defense Department has spent one year defining the national security challenges in space and is ready to resource several lines of effort immediately, including the creation of a new U.S. Space Command, a Space Development Agency and a Space Operations Force.

Still, he said, "there are some things Congress needs to do" in terms of authorizing and funding a sixth military service.

Though there was bipartisan backing for creating U.S. Space Command in the fiscal year 2019 defense authorization bill, it remains unclear how much support establishing a new military branch would have on Capitol Hill.

The Pentagon expects to release detailed information about its plans for the Space Force in the fiscal year 2020 budget request due in February.

The cost of establishing the new Space Force could be in the "billions," according to Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Paul Selva said during an Aug. 10 Air Force Association event that although the Pentagon will do what it can to craft a strong proposal for a new Space Force in support of the president's vision, it will be a significant undertaking that requires congressional support.

"Standing up new organizations is definitely not resource-neutral," he said. "So I think we have to be really careful with the assertions."