President Trump holds presentation of US Space Force flag
Trump, officials hold Space Force flag presentation in Oval Office.
President Trump on Friday was presented with the newly unveiled official flag of the U.S. Space Force (USSF) — the first official flag of a new U.S. military service in 72 years.
“This is a very special moment,” Trump told reporters and gathered military leaders in the Oval Office. He also signed the 2020 Armed Forces Day Proclamation.
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Trump directed the Pentagon to establish the Space Force in 2018, calling for "American dominance in space” — a theme he went back to on Friday.
“China and Russia, perhaps others, have started a lot sooner than us, we should have started this a long time ago but we’ve made up for it in spades,” he said.
Trump signed the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act in December, which created the USSF, announcing also that General John Raymond would be the first chief of space operations for the force. On Jan. 23, he announced the official seal of the USSF.
According to a senior administration official, the flag is derived from the Space Force's seal, which features a silver delta symbol surrounded by two constellations cast against the dark blue of outer space.
"The flag takes the key and central elements of the seal and places them on a black field fringed in platinum with the words 'United States Space Force' and Roman numerals MMXIX (2019) below," the administration official said.
It was manufactured by the Defense Logistics Agency's "Flag Room" in Philadelphia, the same entity that has made the president's personal flags.
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The unveiling of the flag comes as the five-month-old Space Force is accepting applications for eligible active-duty personnel to transfer into the service. The service released a slick new recruiting video last week.
"Space is going to be the future ... and already, from what I’m hearing, we are the leader in space,” Trump said.
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