Space Force vice commander: Service members won't be called 'spacemen'

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Trump’s ‘space force’: What does it entail?

President Trump announced a directive for the Pentagon to create a “space force” that will serve as a sixth branch of the military. What will this new force actually do?

Members of the newly created Space Force still don't have a title, officials said Wednesday, while also saying they won't be referred to as "spacemen."

Leaders have been conducting research on what to call the troops, said Lt. Gen. David Thompson, vice commander of the Space Force, Military Times reported.

“We need to go through a process with Congress to provide authorization for specific individuals to transfer,” he said at an event while speaking to reporters.

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The sixth branch of the armed forces has around 16,000 Air Force service members and civilians assigned to it. Thompson said plans will be made to integrate soldiers, sailors and Marines who end their enlistments or resign their officer commissions with their current branches of service and opt to enter the Space Force.

The Air Force will transfer certain personnel to the new branch in the fiscal year 2021, with the Army and Navy to follow the year after.

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“We also want to make absolutely sure that when these individuals transfer in, that all of that is in place,” Thompson said.