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Meet the 'guardians': US Space Force members get a new name

“Soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guardians will be defending our nation for generations to come,” Pence said during Friday's announcement.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration celebrated the first birthday of the U.S. Space Force on Friday by announcing that its members will be known as “guardians.”

Vice President Mike Pence made the announcement at a celebratory event tracing the development of the newest branch of the military over the past year.

“It is my honor, on behalf of the president of the United States, to announce that henceforth the men and women of the United States Space Force will be known as guardians,” Pence said. “Soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guardians will be defending our nation for generations to come.”

President-elect Joe Biden has yet to reveal his plans for the Space Force in the next administration.

The Space Force announcement said the name was "chosen by space professionals, for space professionals." 

The official Space Force account tweeted that "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.” 

Friday's announcement naturally led to some jokes connecting the name to Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise.  

Walter Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics, tweeted: "I want to be sure to use their full title accurately, so has there been any word on whether they are Earth Guardians, Space Guardians or Guardians of the Galaxy? And what is being done to keep the other services from calling them Trekkies? 

"Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn chimed in too, later asking whether they could sue over the name choice

The movie franchise's official account even jumped in, tweeting "Who, us?" 

RELATED: First U.S. Space Force enlistees graduate at JBSA Lackland

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