The United States Space Force announced Friday that service members of the military’s newest branch would be known as Guardians.
“Today, after a yearlong process that produced hundreds of submissions and research involving space professionals and members of the general public, we can finally share with you the name by which we will be known: Guardians,” the official Space Force account shared the news on Twitter. (RELATED: First Space Force Officer To Be Sworn In On International Space Station)
Today, after a yearlong process that produced hundreds of submissions and research involving space professionals and members of the general public, we can finally share with you the name by which we will be known: Guardians. pic.twitter.com/Tmlff4LKW6
— United States Space Force (@SpaceForceDoD) December 18, 2020
Critics responded almost immediately, pointing out that the fascist militia in “The Handmaid’s Tale” were also known as the Guardians. (RELATED: Alyssa Milano’s ‘Handmaid’ Protest Takes Wrong Turn, Gets Lost In Meme-land)
The use of the name of the fascist militia in The Handmaid’s Tale is not an accident.
Illegitimi non carborundum. https://t.co/fMTaw1a68A
— Evan Shapiro (@eshap) December 18, 2020
They stole the logo of Star Trek and the name of the fascist police force from The Handmaid’s Tale. https://t.co/Zsw4CUEnK9
— Diana Butler Bass (@dianabutlerbass) December 18, 2020
“Today, after a yearlong process that produced hundreds of submissions and research involving space professionals and members of the general public,” Space Force settled on the “Guardians,” the name used by the fascist militia that oppresses women in The Handmaid’s Tale. https://t.co/xZjKVlOXNh
— CODEPINK (@codepink) December 18, 2020
Very on brand for Pence’s Space Force. https://t.co/GPsHyLt6me pic.twitter.com/RXVytr1vy3
— Michael (@OmanReagan) December 18, 2020
In the “Handmaid’s Tale” novel and adaptation, Guardians are the name of the uniformed guards and police of Gilead, a patriarchal, totalitarian, theocratic, neo-Puritanical fascist state that takes over most of the United States of America. pic.twitter.com/JpAznDVSrg
— Michael (@OmanReagan) December 18, 2020
Others made a connection to the Marvel Comics Universe’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
You mean like “Guardians of the Galaxy”? Are they going to enlist talking racoons?????? https://t.co/jSljlIRiO6
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) December 18, 2020
They are officially “guardians” of the galaxy?
Is this a joke? How is this NOT a joke… https://t.co/PP6KJNshns
— William LeGate ???????? (@williamlegate) December 18, 2020
So now Trump’s Space Force has stolen its logo from Star Trek and its naming conventions from Guardians of the Galaxy.
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) December 18, 2020
The Guardians…….. of the Galaxy. @JoeBiden, we’re getting rid of this next month, right? ???? https://t.co/yPlwkvpZiu
— April (@ReignOfApril) December 18, 2020
According to the official account, the name was a throwback to the original command motto used by the Air Force Space Command in 1983: “Guardians of the High Frontier.”
The opportunity to name a force is a momentous responsibility. Guardians is a name with a long history in space operations, tracing back to the original command motto of Air Force Space Command in 1983, “Guardians of the High Frontier.”
— United States Space Force (@SpaceForceDoD) December 18, 2020