As Sunshine Week 2024 draws to a close, the Air Force marked the occasion by hiding draft logos and uniforms for the Space Force.
Reason filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Air Force in January 2020 for drafts or alternative designs for the logo of the nascent Space Force, one of the most important symbols of the Trump administration expensive and extravagant farces.
Four years later, the Air Force released 122 pages of communications among the civil servants who designed Starfleet’s uniforms, logo and seal… sorry, Space Force.
Unfortunately for everyone who couldn’t wait to see it Project Runway: Department of Defense Editionthe Air Force redacted all images of the draft versions, citing Exemption (b)(5) of the FOIA.
The (b)(5) exemption is also known as the “deliberative process” exemption. It protects discussions among bureaucrats about policy decisions, on the reasoning that bureaucrats wouldn’t be so frank if everything they said was dragged into the public eye (by pesky journalists like me).
Congress amended the FOIA in 2016 to say that agencies should operate with a “presumption of openness” and withhold documents only in cases of “foreseeable harm,” not out of fear of embarrassment. Despite this, federal agencies continue to routinely abuse exemptions, particularly (b)(5). In this case, the Air Force appears to argue that its personnel would be afraid to design uniforms if their designs were public. I’m sorry, but fashion is a difficult business.
Not all is lost, however. Some curiosities escaped censorship.
For example, the communications include a scene of senior military officers rushing to modify the uniform of General John W. Raymond, the first chief of space operations, after President Donald Trump chose the blue dot for the new uniforms of the Space Force.
“I’m not sure if General Raymond has contacted you yet, but he wanted to see the possibility of transforming his uniform with the blue thread stitch chosen by POTUS today ASAP,” said a Message forwarded to numerous Air Force personnel on 15 January 2020, read.
An Air Force brigadier general coordinating the blue wire emergency response He answered:
“This is history in the making and we can play a role! Imagine the stories we can tell future generations and say we were there. I can’t wait to read about it in textbooks on American history. What an honoring story! For now , immediate action, please.”
Is that sarcasm I sense, General? Definitely not about something as serious as American space dominance.