Is the Galactic Empire secretly pulling the strings behind America’s newest military department? A recent photograph of a high-ranking Air Force officer transferring into the U.S. Space Force is prompting questions that Pentagon officials are hesitant to answer.
In the official Department of Defense photograph, Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt is sworn into the U.S. Space Force at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Closely monitoring the event are a pair of Storm Troopers, the ruthless infantry soldiers of the Empire along with a member of the dreaded Red Guard, Emperor Palpatine’s personal security detail.
On Wednesday, reporters grilled top Pentagon officials about the unusual photograph.
“Does the Defense Department endorse the values of the Intergalactic Empire?” reporter Jeff Schogol with the website Task & Purpose asked chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby during a press conference.
Mr. Kirby, a retired Navy admiral, then slowly shook his head and stared down at the table in the briefing room.
“You’re killing me, Smalls,” he said.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether that was a reference to the movie, “The Sandlot” or a secret Galactic Empire distress code. Nevertheless, after a few moments, Mr. Kirby made another attempt to answer the burning question.
“Jeff, we support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” he said.
While Pentagon officials didn’t say if that also includes those from galaxies that are far, far away, the picture itself had a more mundane explanation: Maj. Gen. Burt was being sworn in in the middle of an International Space Day celebration being held at the base on May 7.
