Space Force Has Completed a 'Momentous Responsibility'

If "troops" seemed too boring of a way to refer to the members of Space Force, never fear—there's a new label for those in service to the latest US military branch. "It is my honor, on behalf of the president of the United States, to announce that henceforth, the men and women of the United States Space Force will be known as guardians," Vice President Mike Pence announced Friday at a ceremony commemorating Space Force's first anniversary, CNN reports. Space Force's Twitter account noted that the yearlong process and "momentous responsibility" to find the best name brought "hundreds" of suggestions and spurred "research involving space professionals and members of the general public."

Defense One reports that some speculated the name had been inspired by Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy superhero film, but Space Force explains the name actually ties back to the motto used by the Air Force Space Command unit in the early '80s: "Guardians of the High Frontier." The Verge notes that Space Force is essentially a reboot of that former command and officially remains part of the Air Force, though it has the authority to make its own decisions independently from its parent. On Sunday, the actual one-year anniversary of Space Force's founding, Gen. Jay Raymond, the head of space operations, will become an official member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, per Defense One. (More Space Force stories.)