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The Space National Guard is the proposed National Guard component of the United States Space Force.[1]

Cost

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A 2020 report by the Congressional Budget Office indicated that the creation of a Space National Guard, as proposed by the National Guard Bureau, would cost an additional $100 million per year in operations and support costs, with a onetime cost of $20 million in the construction of new facilities. This report directly contradicted the statement by the National Guard Bureau that a Space National Guard would only have a onetime cost at creation, and then be cost-neutral.[2]

The report also analyzed the cost of the creation of a larger Space National Guard, which would be ~33% of the Space Force, calculating that the annual operating cost would be $385 million to $490 million per year.[2]

Proposal history

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Pre-2019

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In September 2018, Air Force Major General Donald P. Dunbar, the Adjutant General of Wisconsin, penned an editorial for the Air Force Times in which he wrote that "it seems logical that the nation would see the Guard as an asset in a new Space Force".[3] Members of the United States Congress, including Senators Joe Manchin and Jack Reed, also expressed concern the Department of Defense's proposal did not include the creation of a Space National Guard component.[4] The following month, Director of the Air National Guard Gen L. Scott Rice stated that the Defense Department was committed to having both space reserve and National Guard components.[5]

In June 2019, Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which stipulated that the "Secretary of Defense may not transfer any personnel or resources from any reserve components, including the National Guard, to the Space Force ... until the date on which a Space National Guard of the United States has been established by law," however, the language was not included in the final National Defense Authorization Act.[6][7]

On August 31, 2019, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, Air Force General Joseph Lengyel stated that a Space National Guard should be established.[8] Two days later Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Cobb, special assistant to the National Guard Chief for space, confirmed that a proposed Space National Guard would absorb both Air National Guard and Army National Guard units performing space missions.[9]

2019–2023

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The Senate Armed Services Committee voted to approve its markup of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022. Included in the markup, which will now advance to the full Senate, is a name change for the Air National Guard, making it the Air and Space National Guard. Such a move would likely mean there would be no separate Space Guard established.[10]

The final version of the National Defense Authorization Act did not include any provision for a Space National Guard or federal Space Force reserve component.[11] The Space Force is evaluating a number of different options for reserve components, including a new single component service with both full time and part time members or removing traditional reserve components, like the National Guard all together. A report on Space Force reserve structure is due to the United States Congress on 19 March 2020.[11][needs update] The inclusion of a Space National Guard, as opposed to just a Space Force reserve, has been quite controversial, as there is only a federal mission in space, without any state missions, and a concern that individual states will lobby for their own Space National Guard units, dramatically increasing bureaucratic overhead for the sake of benefiting their local economies.[11][12]

A number of National Guard generals, including Army Major General David Baldwin, Adjutant General of California, and Air Force Major General Michael A. Loh, then the Adjutant General of Colorado, have expressed concern that the Defense Department will not endorse a Space National Guard and have opted to ignore the Office of the Secretary of Defense and instead have directly lobbied Congress for a Space National Guard. Maj. Gen. Baldwin stated: "When they’re going to act and whether they allow [Office of the Secretary of Defense] to go through their process to come to the conclusion on their own that we need a Space National Guard, or we leverage Congress and have Congress just put it in the NDAA and make it happen remains to be seen."[13]

2024: Legislative Proposal 480

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On March 29, 2024, the Defense Department submitted to Congress Legislative Proposal 480,[14] which if enacted would transfer space units in the Air National Guard to the Space Force, and override the requirement under federal law for the state Governor to give consent to such a transfer.[15][16] On April 9, the National Governors Association Chair (Governor Spencer Cox of Utah, a Republican) and Vice Chair (Governor Jared Polis of Colorado, a Democrat) released a joint statement urging that the proposal be withdrawn.[17] In an April 9 interview, General Daniel R. Hokanson, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, expressed agreement with the interviewer's contention that the proposal would "jeopardize national security".[18] In an April 16 op-ed, the head of the National Guard Association called the proposal an "existential threat to the National Guard as a whole".[19] At an April 17 hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman expressed their support for the proposal, as did committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL), while committee member Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), a National Guard veteran, criticised the proposal as an "end-run on gubernatorial authority".[20][21] In in an April 18 op-ed, Major General Richard R. Neely, Adjutant general of Illinois, argued that the proposal would degrade space warfare capabilities and damage the authority of state Governors.[22] On April 19, Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine published an open letter to President Joe Biden, expressing opposition to the proposal in his capacity as the Ohio National Guard's commander-in-chief, and suggesting the creation of a Space National Guard as an acceptable alternative.[23] On April 22, the Council of Governors published an open letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin calling on the proposal to be withdrawn.[24] On April 29, the governors of 48 states (all except Texas and Florida) and all five permanently inhabited U.S. territories sent an open letter to Austin reiterating the call for the proposal to be withdrawn.[25][26][27] While neither Florida Governor Ron DeSantis nor Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed that letter, they subsequently on May 3 sent individual letters expressing the same request, with Abbott's letter addressed to President Biden,[28][29] and DeSantis' addressed to Secretary Austin.[30][31] On May 6, a bipartisan group of 56 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 29 U.S. Senators sent a letter to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, expressing opposition to the proposal.[32][33]

On May 22, the House Armed Services Committee approved its version of the National Defense Authorization Act 2025, including Legislative Proposal 480; however, it accepted an amendment proposed by Joe Wilson, adding a requirement for gubernatorial consent to any transfers from the Air National Guard to Space Force.[34] On June 5, the Defense subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee advanced a Defense appropriations bill containing a prohibition on transfers from the National Guard to the Space Force without gubernatorial consent.[35]

On June 18, in testimony before the Defense Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, General Hokanson (NGB Chief) argued that "we actually have a Space National Guard, we're just not willing to admit it".[36]

Trump campaign promise

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On August 26, Donald Trump addressed the 146th annual conference of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS), as part of his 2024 Presidential campaign. In his speech, he promised that if elected, he would sign legislation to create a Space National Guard.[37][38] Analysts viewed Trump's victory in the 2024 Presidential election as significantly increasing the odds the Space National Guard comes into existence.[39][40]

Organization

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Seven U.S. states conduct National Guard space operations.

States with existing National Guard space operations are Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, New York, Arkansas, and Ohio;[41] there is also a space component in the Guam Air National Guard.[42] In November 2024, the Hawaii Air National Guard activated two space units.[43]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Evans, Ryan; Kendall III, Frank (May 22, 2024). "A Conversation with Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall". War on the Rocks. Texas: The Texas National Security Review.
  2. ^ a b Erwin, Sandra (June 2, 2020). "Congressional report refutes claim that a Space National Guard would be 'cost neutral'". SpaceNews.
  3. ^ Dunbar, Donald (September 30, 2018). "The nation needs the Guard in space". Air Force Times. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  4. ^ Erwin, Sandra (April 24, 2019). "Pentagon wants a Space Force, still undecided on a Space National Guard". SpaceNews. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  5. ^ Bender, Bryan (May 24, 2019). "Weekend Space Warriors?". Politico. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  6. ^ "AMENDMENT OFFERED BY MR. CROW OF COLORADO" (PDF). house.gov. United States House of Representatives. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  7. ^ NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020: CONFERENCE REPORT TO ACCOMPANY S. 1790
  8. ^ "NGB Chief: Guard Must Adapt to Stay Relevant". ngaus.org. National Guard Association of the United States. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  9. ^ Maucione, Scott (September 2, 2019). "EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon will create Space National Guard if Space Force launches". Federal News Network. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  10. ^ Hitchens, Theresa (22 July 2021). "SASC Completes NDAA Markup With $25 Billion Extra, New Name for Air National Guard".
  11. ^ a b c "Pentagon Mulls Space National Guard Options". February 12, 2020.
  12. ^ Hadley, Greg (July 22, 2021). "Does the Space Force need a Guard component? The National Guard says yes". Air Force Magazine.
  13. ^ Hitchens, Theresa (12 February 2020). "Adjutants General Ignore OSD & Lobby Congress For Space Guard".
  14. ^ "Second Package of Legislative Proposals Sent to Congress for Inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 – Individual Proposals" (PDF). Office of General Counsel (United States Department of Defense). March 29, 2024. pp. 92–98. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  15. ^ Insinna, Valerie (2024-04-09). "Transfer of Air National Guard units to Space Force would be a one-off, says Air Force Secretary". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  16. ^ Obis, Anastasia (2024-04-05). "Air Force seeks to override existing law, move Guard units to Space Force". federalnewsnetwork.com. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  17. ^ "Governors Issue Statement on National Guard Assets". National Governors Association. 2024-04-09. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  18. ^ Babb, Carla (2024-04-09). "Generals: Proposal to move guardsmen into Space Force would 'jeopardize' national security". Voice of America. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  19. ^ McGinn, Francis M. (2024-04-16). "Air Force's legislative proposal is an existential threat to the National Guard". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  20. ^ Marrow, Michael; Insinna, Valerie (2024-04-17). "HASC chair backs Air Force plan on space Guard units (Exclusive)". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  21. ^ "Full Committee Hearing: Department of the Air Force Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request". House Armed Services Committee. 2024-04-17. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  22. ^ Neely, Rich (2024-04-17). "Air National Guard transfer proposal would put America behind in space". C4ISRNet. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  23. ^ Burd, Aaron (2024-04-19). "Ohio 'Space National Guard': Why did the governor propose making it?". NBC4 WCMH-TV. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  24. ^ "Letter to DOD On Legislative Proposal 480". National Governors Association. 2024-04-22. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  25. ^ Hadley, Greg (2024-04-29). "Nearly Every Governor Opposes Guard Units Moving into the Space Force". Air & Space Forces Magazine. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  26. ^ Knutson, Jacob (2024-04-29). "Most U.S. governors oppose moving some National Guard units to Space Force". Axios. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  27. ^ "Letter to DOD on Maintaining Governor Authority of National Guard". National Governors Association. 2024-04-29. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  28. ^ Nazzaro, Miranda (2024-05-06). "Gov. Greg Abbott slams proposed National Guard move to Space Force". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  29. ^ Abbott, Greg (May 3, 2024). "[Letter]" (PDF). Office of the Texas Governor. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  30. ^ Mower, Lawrence (May 3, 2024). "Keep Florida National Guard out of Space Force, DeSantis tells Department of Defense". The Miami Herald. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  31. ^ DeSantis, Ron (May 3, 2024). "[Letter]" (PDF). Florida Governor. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  32. ^ Nazzaro, Miranda (2024-05-07). "Bipartisan group of lawmakers urge against proposed National Guard move to Space Force". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  33. ^ Crow, Jason; et al. (May 6, 2024). "[Letter]". Politico. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  34. ^ Mitchell, Ellen (2024-05-24). "Here's what's in the mammoth $883.7B Defense bill passed by the House". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  35. ^ Shkolnikova, Svetlana (June 6, 2024). "Lawmakers chip away at controversial plan to transfer Air National Guard units to Space Force". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  36. ^ "General Daniel R. Hokanson's testimony at the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommi". National Guard. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  37. ^ Tingley, Brett (2024-08-29). "Trump says he'd create a Space National Guard if elected". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  38. ^ Shane, Leo (2024-08-26). "Trump promises to launch Space National Guard if elected". Military Times. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  39. ^ Novelly, Thomas (2024-11-06). "Space National Guard Could Become Reality Under Donald Trump". Military.com. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  40. ^ Hitchens, Theresa (2024-11-14). "Could Trump establish a Space National Guard? Officials and experts say it's likely". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  41. ^ Maucione, Scott (May 21, 2019). "You've heard of space force, but what about Space National Guard?". Federal News Network. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  42. ^ Whitman, Frank (Nov 6, 2022). "Disagreement over Space Force National Guard affects Guam". Pacific Island Times. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  43. ^ Gatdula, Roann (November 8, 2024). "Hawaii Air National Guard Activates Space Capabilities". The National Guard. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
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