STAR-STUDDED EVENING: There were more stars on the shoulders of last night’s guests at the White House than you can see at the average Hollywood premiere. President Trump hosted his top four-star generals and admirals including all the Joint Chiefs and all the combatant commanders from around the globe. The nearly two dozen guests included civilian leaders Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and his deputy Patrick Shanahan, but everyone else was in dress uniform.

DEFENDING THE BORDER: Flanked by Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, Trump held court for about 14 minutes in the Cabinet room before a private meeting and dinner. Just before dismissing the press, the president reiterated he’s still considering dispatching the active-duty military to the southern border in response to a caravan of asylum-seeking immigrants marching north through Mexico. “The military, not just the National Guard, the military is what I’m thinking about,” Trump said. “We can’t have people coming into our country illegally.”

The U.S. already has 2,100 Guard troops assisting the border patrol, but not performing law enforcement tasks. Asked specifically what more active-duty troops might do, Trump replied, “They can do a lot. They’re the military. Right fellows?” gesturing to officers around the table.

Yesterday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted, “The U.S. has a message for those in the caravan — you will not be successful getting into the United States. If you seek to come here as a refugee — go through the normal refugee process. You will not be granted entry into the U.S. through the illegal means of this caravan.”

SPACE FORCE IS ‘WHERE IT’S AT’: Trump said he was also getting an update on his plans to establish a sixth branch of the armed services to be called the Space Force, which he said would be a legacy for everyone around the table. “I think I can say that everybody in this room feels strongly about Space Force. Everything’s necessary but that’s going to be a very important part. It seems to be where it’s at and where it’s going,” Trump said. “And I’m not just talking about sending rockets to the moon, or rockets to Mars, I’m talking about defense and offense.”

When Trump called on Mattis to chime in, the defense secretary, who initially opposed a separate service, was circumspect in his brief comment, careful to say he was dutifully carrying out his marching orders. “Right now what we are going to do is set up a combatant command, that’s our initial goal. We are working with Congress for the legislation that we'll need to open the door to further organization, but we are not letting any moss grow,” Mattis said. “We’re organizing now for combat, and [getting] that combatant command underway.”

Trump said he thinks there’s a “good chance next year of officially doing out Space Force.”

WEAPONS IN SPACE? In the past, Mattis has been careful to say the U.S. does not want to militarize space, but rather sees DoD’s primary mission as protecting and defending the vital constellation of satellites that provide communication and GPS signals for the military and civilian sectors. Trump did not explain what offensive capability he meant when he said the Space Force was an important part of our military both offense and defense.

Vice President Mike Pence had already muddied the waters earlier in the day during a talk at the Washington Post, part of an all-day discussion of space issues. Asked point blank by reporter Robert Costa, “Do you think that nuclear weapons should be banned from space?” Pence replied. “Well, they are now.”

“Should they always be?” Costa followed up. “I think that what we need to do is make sure that we provide for the common defense of the people of the United States of America, and that’s the president’s determination here,” Pence said. “I think it’s in the interest of every nation to continue to ban the use of nuclear weapons in space, but what we want to do is continue to advance the principle that peace comes through strength.”

Pence also said he sees no need for now to amend the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which bans nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction from being deployed in the Earth’s orbit. “That treaty … does ban weapons of mass destruction in outer space but it doesn't ban military activity,” Pence said. “It actually gives nations a fair amount of flexibility in operating for their security interests in outer space.

“But, you know, as time goes forward, the hope that we could continue to see outer space as a domain where peace will reign, it will require military presence. But we'll continue to aspire to President Kennedy's vision of a ‘sea of peace’ as opposed to a terrifying domain of war,” Pence said.

AFGHANISTAN STRATEGY: “We discuss it all the time,” Trump said when asked if the strategy was working, considering the recent attack in Kandahar that wounded a one-star American general and missed the top U.S. commander. “We feel very badly about that, it’s war. It’s a tough business.”

Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter @dailyondefense.