How Space Force chose their motto will surprise you

Space Force quietly released its motto back in July without much frill or fanfare.

Semper Supra means Always Above, and it's one of those mottos with a neat origin story (more on that later!), but it feels like it's not exactly perfect for the newest branch of our military. Maybe it could have been worse? We're not entirely sure.

Space Force also finally issued its logo to help with brand awareness and hopefully encourage the American public to take the newest military branch seriously.

The branch even unveiled a flag, so it's pretty clear that Space Force isn't going anywhere. Let's unpack the motto, the logo and the flag because there's a lot to understand about these branding efforts.

Semper Supra is supposed to represent the branch's role in establishing, maintaining and preserving US interests and freedom operations in space.

The logo was designed by the same agency who works on Air Force branding and like with all military insignia, the details are important. The delta symbol was first used in 1961 and was selected to honor the Air Force and Space command's heritage. But contrary to what we're all thinking, the Space Force logo is apparently not an homage to Star Trek.

The colors black and silver represent the environmental boundaries between Earth and space. The delta's outer border is silver and signifies protection against all adversaries and threats in the space domain. The black portion on the inside signifies the vast darkness of deep space. Inside the delta are two spires that represent the action of a rocket launching in the atmosphere. In the center of the delta is a visual representation of Polaris, the North Star. This symbolizes how the core values guide the Space Force mission. Finally, there are four beveled elements inside the delta representing the other four branches of the military.

Apparently, the logo creators didn't think it was worthwhile to include the Coast Guard in their nod to the other military branches. Dang. Sorry, Coast Guard.

So let's get back to Semper Supra. Space Force Chief Gen. Jay Raymond recently tweeted, "We are building a new Service to secure the space domain – the ultimate high ground. Our strategic imperative is to ensure that our space capabilities [and] the advantages they provide the nation [and] our Joint and Coalition partners are always there."

It might just be us, but that statement sounds an awful lot like a reference to Obi-Wan Kenobi's "high ground" comment to Anakin in "Revenge of the Sith."

"It's over, Anakin. I have the high ground," Kenobi says.

Kenobi just said it with fewer words.

So who had the final say in the Space Force motto? Airman First Class Daniel Sanchez, 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs broadcast journalist, that's who. The junior Airman enlisted in the Air Force when he was 33 after unsuccessfully trying to find his footing in the civilian world. While preparing to go to basic training, Sanchez would listen to service songs, which is where he said he got the earliest ideas of the Space Force motto. It was while listening to the Coast Guard's service song, Semper Paratus, that inspiration struck. Then Sanchez started thinking about the Marine Corps motto – Semper Fidelis – and the unofficial Navy motto – Semper Fortis. The translation, Always Faithful and Always Courageous, struck a chord.

Then, while training to become an Air Force broadcast journalist at Fort Meade, Sanchez and some of his colleagues started greeting one another with the motto he created – Semper Supra. Sanchez says that he liked the alliterative sound of the motto.

Six months after joining the Air Force, the Space Force became an official branch of the military. Sanchez shared his idea for the motto with his leadership command, who encouraged him to make a formal proposal.

Chief Gen. Raymond spoke with Sanchez and told him that the motto was a perfect fit.

Sanchez says the entire selection process still feels unreal. He hopes to eventually transfer to the Space Force and complete OCS. Always above, Airman First Class Sanchez.