--- title: "The new Space Force challenge coins look like tokens you’d spend at Chuck E. Cheese" description: "If you're going to hand out a challenge coin, you should make it look as cool as possible — something the Space Force failed miserably at" date: "2020-12-11" modified: "2020-12-11" authors: - name: "Jared Keller" job_title: "Former Managing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/space-force-challenge-coins/" categories: - "Analysis" - "Military Branches" - "News" - "Space Force" - "Tactics" - "Tech & Tactics" --- # The new Space Force challenge coins look like tokens you’d spend at Chuck E. Cheese ![]() *Space Force challenge coins* The U.S. Space Force may be just over a year old, but the nascent service is quickly adopting all the trapping you might expect of a full-blown branch of the U.S. military. [Space Force flags]()! [Space Force nameplates]()! [Space Force recruits]()! Now, the Space Force has unveiled the military accessory you never knew you needed: [a Space Force challenge coin](). https://twitter.com/SpaceForceDoD/status/1337185406085984256 The first seven Space Force enlistees reportedly received this extremely special coin when they [graduated]() basic military training alongside hundreds of airmen from the 320th Training Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland on Thursday, which I'm sure they'll cherish and definitely not accidentally lose. Let's be real: challenge coins are an increasingly problematic fixture of U.S. military culture. Sure, they're an easy way for a command to acknowledge growth or the accomplishment of a particular task, without going as far as putting anyone up for an *actual* award, but they're generally kind of pointless — except for [occasionally stopping bullets during a firefight](). They're also everywhere, to the point that [they've virtually lost all meaning](). That said, if you're going to hand out a challenge coin, you might as well attempt to make it look as fly as humanly possible. And in this case, Space Force may have missed the mark just a tidge, seeing as it looks like a token handed out at Chuck E. Cheese. Which is a nice way of saying it's a corny trinket devoid of any aesthetic value whatsoever. These aren't challenge coins: these are 90s-era Pogs on steroids; the commemorative plates of the challenge coin community; a metallic little message that says *we care just enough to give you this paperweight, but not enough for a real reward*. They look like hokey metal garbage with a cheesy-ass font. Hell, I'd even argue that the delta actually makes them resemble *Star Trek* money, except there *is* no currency in *Star Trek*. What's that? I'm a grouchy civilian who should shut the fuck up? Sure, you might be right, but I'm not the only person who feels this way! [Just look at the tweets, dammit](). Whatever, I digress: At least they aren't as virulently fucked up as the ['Punisher Mickey' challenge coins doled out among Disney theme park security forces](). In conclusion: We love you, Space Force. But seriously, fuck challenge coins. If there's one antiquated ritual worth ditching as the U.S. military marches into the bright unknown, it's this one. ***Related: [The number of challenge coins that are passed out is too damn high]()*** ## Author Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Facebook]() [LinkedIn]() [Instagram]()