The U.S. Air Force Academy’s football team will honor the U.S. Space Force in 2022 with a new uniform design, the school announced Thursday, one the team will debut on Oct. 1 during a clash with rival Navy at Falcon Stadium in Colorado.

Designed for the Air Power Legacy Series, the uniforms include the Air Force athletic mark at the center neck fused together with the Polaris star and orbit to unite the symbols of the two services.

The helmet features the team’s traditional lighting bolt, a shared image between the Air Force and Space Force, while each shoulder will be adorned by a patch representing the new service’s two bases, Buckley and Peterson-Shriever.

(U.S. Air Force Academy)

The design, according to Gen. John Raymond, chief of space operations, is intended to showcase the service’s role in protecting U.S. security interests.

“We find ourselves in a period of great competition for space with nations that don’t share our view,” Raymond said in a release.

“It’s a competition where the outcome is no longer assured, and it’s a competition that we cannot lose. Because if we lose our access and ability to operate freely in space, we all lose.

The uniforms include the Air Force athletic mark at the center neck with the Polaris star and orbit at around the mark. (U.S. Air Force Academy)

Since 2016, the Air Force Academy’s Air Power Legacy Series football uniforms have honored various individuals, equipment or units, past and present, specific to the service.

The academy’s first special edition uniforms, which featured Tiger Shark teeth on the helmet, were an homage to the nose art found on numerous aircraft during World War II.

The Air Force Academy’s football jerseys have also honored groups and select aircraft, such as the Tuskegee Airmen, C-17 and F-35.

Since 2016, the academy’s football uniforms have honored various people and parts of the Air Force, including the Tuskegee Airmen, C-17 and F-35. (U.S. Air Force Academy)

Today, the Air Force Academy functions as the military academy for Space Force cadets.

The campus just outside of Colorado Springs commissions around 96 guardians into the service every year, hosts three space-focused majors, and offers course work in the design, development and flight of satellites.

Observation Post is the Military Times one-stop shop for all things off-duty. Stories may reflect author observations.

Zamone “Z” Perez is a rapid response reporter and podcast producer at Defense News and Military Times. He previously worked at Foreign Policy and Ufahamu Africa. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he researched international ethics and atrocity prevention in his thesis. He can be found on Twitter @zamoneperez.

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