WASHINGTON — A recent study conducted by the RAND Corporation has found that most Space Force recruits are fluent in Klingon or other fictional languages.

“Our study set out to identify the ideal knowledge, skills, and behavior Space Force leadership should look for in a recruit,” one researcher told reporters. “But this language statistic began to emerge after just a handful of interviews. I had to ask several participants to stop speaking Klingon and answer the questions in either English or Spanish.”

As in the other services, Space Force service members, known as guardians instead of space cadets for whatever reason, are eligible to receive up to an extra $1,000 in language pay every month if they test well enough in priority languages such as Arabic, Chinese, or Russian. A little-noticed provision of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, however, requires the Space Force to pay the same amount to service members who are able to speak Klingon, Romulan, or Ferengi, despite these languages being fictional.

“A guardian’s ability to learn Klingon demonstrates an aptitude to learn other languages, and we don’t know what alien languages we may need to learn as we explore deeper into the cosmos,” said Lt. Col. Jeff “High” Perspace. “Besides, their willingness to speak Klingon in front of other human beings exhibits the confidence they’ll need dealing with bullying from those Air Force and Coast Guard meatheads.”