The world's nations are looking for any advantage in the increasingly contested area of space. Now, an effort is underway to change how the U.S. military is structured to handle space-related missions.
That solution would take current Air National Guard units — nine of them, in six different states — and move them to the U.S. Space Force. The proposal is not without controversy.
The National Guard Association of the United States argues that moving the Air National Guard units not only circumvents the authority of the state governors that oversee them but could also set a precedent for it to happen with other guard units.
"We're going to continue to advocate against this because we think it's wrong for the country," said retired Maj. General Frank McGinn, who leads the National Guard Association of the U.S. "Time is on our side in order to keep the status quo, at least for now, and really flush this out before you go in and start breaking units, reducing capability and making it dangerous for our nation."
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The proposal to move the units has infuriated a number of governors, including those from Colorado, Ohio and Michigan, among others, who all opposed the move in letters sent to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier this year.
In Congressional testimony in April, the Secretary of the Air Force advocated for the potential transfer of the Air National Guard units.
"Most of them do fit within the space force, or a couple that I think may be more appropriate in the Air Force, but they're all valued and they're all important," U.S. Air Force Sec. Frank Kendall told members of Congress. "We want to have them continue to serve. We are looking at how to best make that happen."
Critics, though, said the proposal is an issue of national security and that moving the units could cause some Air National Guard members to leave the service because of a lack of scheduling flexibility, which could potentially weaken America's space readiness.
"China is taking this opportunity to increase their presence in space, and so has Russia and, if you think about it, as space becomes contested, it is the new high ground," said Brigadier Gen. Michael Bruno of the National Guard Association of the U.S. "If that capability is taken away from us by our adversaries, it has a huge impact on national security."
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National security impacts could unfold high above Earth.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Secretary of the Air Force tells Scripps News that the potential move of the Air National Guard units into the U.S. Space Force is "to ensure the mission success and unity of command of the nation's Space Forces."
The proposal is currently included in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which Congress is expected to vote on after the elections.
As for a Space Force National Guard, it currently does not exist. However, a federal law went into effect earlier this year called the "Space Force Personnel Management Act." It doesn't create a Space Force National Guard, per se, but it does call for the implementation of a part-time option for the Space Force. However, it will take several years to implement. That has upset some current, part-time Air National Guard members involved in space missions because the proposed move would force them into the full-time, active-duty Space Force.
