Space Force Now Boasts Three ‘Space Cowboys’

Three Space Force “Guardians” recently traveled to El Paso, Texas, to complete a set of combat and physical training exercises to earn their “Spurs,” Military.com reports — turning them into the first-ever “space cowboys.”

Thomas Novelly reports for Military.com:

After being covered in dust, sweat, dirt and blood, three officers emerged from the West Texas desert last week and were given their spurs and Stetson cowboy hats by the Army, becoming the first ever “space cowboys.”

The three Space Force Guardians traveled to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, to complete an Army Cavalry Spur Ride, a series of arduous combat tests and physical training exercises in which service members often ruck-march in between challenges — the first members of the military’s newest and smallest service to do so.

Space Force Capt. Bradley Evans, an engineer at White Sands Missile Range who took part in the Spur Ride, told Military.com that all of the Guardians who participated completed the challenges, though some Army soldiers didn’t make it through.

No, we’re not making this up. The military’s youngest and smallest service sent three Guardians — the unfortunate title of Space Force members — to compete at this year’s Spur Ride, a longstanding tradition that has arguably very little, if anything, to do with sustaining space operations and protecting US assets in Earth’s orbit.

Other Army soldiers attending the parade had plenty of questions for the three odd ducks, including what they actually do on a day-to-day basis and why they don’t have the Army’s mandatory physical training three times a week to stay in shape.

“Let’s just say they showed us some extra love for being space cowboys,” Space Force lieutenant Jordan Savage told Military.com.

The nickname has clearly already struck a chord among the Guardians.

“It’s kind of cool to be called Space Cowboys,” fellow first lieutenant Jackson Jennings told our sister site Task & Purpose. “It just feels right.”

Deskbound

Fortunately, the three Guardians fared relatively well, completing all the challenges at the Spur Ride. Other Army soldiers didn’t quite make it, according to the report.

“Being in the Space Force, we certainly received a lot more attention from the cadre than some of the soldiers did, which made it quite a good challenge for us,” Space Force captain Bradley Evans told Military.com. “I think there was an expectation by some that we wouldn’t make it, and so pushing back against that expectation and performing was a powerful driver.”

It’s a strange confluence for the Space Force, a military branch that has sometimes struggled to justify its own existence. Almost exactly a year ago, chief of space operations Chance Saltzman voiced “some concerns with our current mission statement” in an interview with Politico. “My biggest concern is that the mission statement does not reflect why the Nation has a Space Force and the vital functions Guardians perform.”

That’s not to mention the military arm’s existing challenges with being taken seriously, especially in light of a Netflix-produced comedy TV show of the same name.

At the end of the day, we applaud the three Guardians for doing their best to stay in shape. Anybody who works a full workweek in front of a computer can probably relate to that.

“It’s not only just generally healthy, but doing this event is going to help me in my regular job when I’m just pushing forward and trying to get something done,” Evans told Military.com. “Something about rucking 30 miles, and just thinking one more step, applies very well to being on a 12-hour shift.”