On December 20, 2019, the United States Space Force (USSF) became the sixth branch of the US military with the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. It was the first new branch since the US Air Force was established in 1947.
Nine months later, on September 1, 2020, the Space Force inducted its first class of deployed Guardians, as they are called. Twenty members of the US Air Force trained in space operations and other core space career fields transferred to the new branch, making them the first Space Force members engaged in support of combat operations.
