Upside of the space force being separated from the USAF is the USAF won’t be trying to argue that the F-35 can work ‘just fine’ as a space shuttle.
Agree, see my post 36
Downside is that the ‘space force’ will be the bastard step child of DoD. By that I mean they wont consist of ‘warriors’, rather they will be strictly an acquisition and support function. They will be less ‘manly’ than the coast guard (no offense to the coast guard here, I hold them in high regard as the 5th service) in that there is really no physical requirement and members will never have seen combat or even stormy weather. They really wont even have a need for having gone through a boot camp. They will be keyboard commandos and powerpoint rangers. Their function is crucial, but if the ranks are not populated by servicemen and women of the other branches, then they are likely to be looked at as ‘civilians’ in a uniform. “Rank” will be almost meaningless, compared with the assigned job. So while it makes sense in many ways, there would be this downside to still calling them DoD.