Space Force, paid parental leave signed into law

(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

last updated 21 December 2019

Space Force is really happening.

President Trump on Friday signed the National Defense Authorization Act, a $738 billion compromise defense policy bill that establishes Space Force as the sixth branch of the U.S. military and gives federal workers 12 weeks of paid parental leave, among several other provisions.

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But don't expect major changes to the military, despite the new branch. Around 16,000 active duty members of the Air Force Space Command will be assigned to Space Force to get it up and running, though they'll officially remain in the Air Force, CNN reports. Eventually, 5,000 to 6,000 of those members will be transferred to Space Force, and the total number of personnel could reach 15,000, which is pretty slim compared to the other branches. "Space Force is much more measured by the technology and the capabilities," Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said. Read more at The Hill and CNN.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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