Retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Blaine Holt and retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Tony Shaffer presented sharply contrasting perspectives on whether the United States should establish a military presence on the moon.
Holt dismissed suggestions that the nation should prepare for conflict over lunar territory, stating, “What we’re not going to do is go find new places to have wars. We can’t even sort out our own wars here on the ground.” He acknowledged the moon’s resource potential but rejected the notion of military confrontation there. “The moon has amazing resources, and they’re going to complement us all one day, but it’s not going to be China puts up a picket fence and says, Hey, listen, this part of the dark side is kind of ours. And don’t try anything because we know how to blast you on the Earth,” he said.
Shaffer argued that the United States must pursue a permanent lunar presence as a strategic advantage. “I think we should be on the moon,” Shaffer stated. “The Army is contemplating this.” He referenced Project Horizon from 1958, which aimed to establish a base with 12 full-time personnel by 1966. “Since 1958, we had a concept, Project Horizon, which said we should do it as soon as possible,” Shaffer explained.
Shaffer emphasized that a lunar base could support missile defense systems and future space exploration. “By controlling the moon, you control essentially high Earth and low Earth orbit,” he added. He also noted the moon’s potential as a cost-effective launch point for solar system missions: “The idea of having a base at the south pole of the moon providing command and control and then a jump-off spot for other exploration of the inner and outer solar system.”
When asked about lunar resources, Holt agreed with Shaffer on shared benefits but opposed militarization. “I agree with Tony that a multinational force using it as a space exploration site because it’s very cheap to launch a rocket off the moon instead of blasting through our own atmosphere,” he said. However, he rejected deploying large military forces: “Are we going to put legions of soldiers down and get laser beams and go mix it up a la ‘Star Wars’? I don’t see it.”
Holt highlighted that helium-3 and rare elements from the moon could benefit the entire planet: “There’s real benefits and the entire planet can benefit from helium-3 and other rare earths, rare elements, and materials we could all bring back here.” He concluded by noting Earth itself contains vast untapped resources.
