US Adds 300 Service Members To 'Space Force' With Virtual 'Swearing In' Hosted By Chief

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2020) The US Space Force expanded with the virtual swearing in of 300 service members at a Defense Department ceremony hosted by Gen. John Raymond, the first commander of the 21st century addition to the United States' military on Tuesday.

"Direct ascent anti-satellite missiles can reach low earth orbit in minutes.� Electronic attacks and directed energy weapons move at the speed of light, and on orbit capabilities move at speeds greater than 17,500 mph," Raymond said in a keynote speech to a virtual Air, Space and Cyber Conference hosted by the Air Force Association.

Raymond then administered the Space Force oath to 300 US service members, most of whom will technically resign from the Air Force and re-enlist in what will become the fifth branch of the US Armed forces.

The cohort consisted of Space Professionals from 12 locations across the United States, Japan, Greenland and Southwest Asia virtually connected to the Defense Department Auditorium where the event took place.

Members from both officer and enlisted ranks raised their right hands and repeated the oath of office or oath of enlistment, representing a portion of more than 2,400 Air Force personnel selected to transfer to the Space Force, according to the Defense Department.