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The details: On the enlisted side, the ranks closely follow the structure of the Air Force. The exception comes in the first four ranks, which will be called Specialist 1, Specialist 2, Specialist 3 and Specialist 4.
The others are the same: sergeant, technical sergeant, master sergeant, etc.
On the officer side, the ranks are identical to those found in the Air Force, Army and Marine Corps, starting with second lieutenant to general.
By going with “specialist” rather than “aviator,” the service is following through on the commitment of the chief of space operations, General Jay Raymond, to have a gender-neutral rank structure that does not include the word man.
On Capitol Hill: Last year, the House approved Crenshaw’s language in the annual Defense Policy Bill requiring the service to use naval ranks, such as sailor, master, ensign and admiral. Some see the Space Force’s mission to defend machinery and commerce in the vastness of space as analogous to the Navy’s mission to protect the high seas.
Others wanted the service, which essentially split from the Air Force in 2019, to establish its own culture and identity separate from its parent service, and saw different ranks as a way to do so.
Take me to your boss: The effort had major backers. Shatner shined in the debate last year when he wrote an op-ed in August for the service to adopt the ranks of the Navy, citing a variety of space icons in pop culture.
But the wording was removed from the final compromise bill, leaving the decision to Space Force.
And after: The ranks are just the latest move in the service, which over the past year has adopted a logo, flag and motto. Other items on their list include an official song and uniforms.
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