Generally Speaking: Fort Hamilton swears in its first Space Force recruit

March 19, 2021 Theodore W. General
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 One of the tenant Department of Defense agencies based at Fort Hamilton in Bay Ridge is the New York Military Entrance Processing Station. This is where men and women entering one of the six U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and now the Space Force) get their physical exam and are sworn in by one of the MEPS officers.  

This past week MEPS, which is commanded by Lt. Col. Ariel Pol, had a noteworthy event: the swearing-in ceremony for the first recruit processed here for the U.S. Space Force. Capt. Preston Giddens, the NY MEPS operations officer, had recruit Fernando Lopez raise his right hand as he gave him the Oath of Enlistment. 

A MEPS representative reported that Lopez was drawn to the Space Force because of its cutting-edge technology and because it was a journey into unknown territory. Lopez will potentially enlist into the intelligence career field.

The newest military branch was created on Dec. 20, 2019. There are currently 2,400 members of the service and they hope to fill more than 300 enlisted positions by the end of 2021.

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Looks like incumbent Democrat City Councilmember Justine Brannan has a Republican/Conservative challenger. Bay Ridge resident Brian Fox, 31, has already secured the endorsements of the Brooklyn Republican and Conservative parties. Liam McCabe is Fox’s campaign manager.

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