On March 15, 2024, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall approved Legislative Proposal 480. This proposal would give the Secretary the full authority to transfer Air National Guard Airmen and units performing space missions into the US Space Force without any approval of the governors that serve as the commander in chief of those Airmen. The exact verbiage of the proposal states โSuch transfer shall occur without regard to section 104 of title 32, United States Code, or section 18238 of title 10, United States Code.โ The two specific sections of law referenced are the code that has established the command structure of the National Guard that has existed for years. This code clearly states the requirement to have a governorโs consent to an transfer of the National Guard force structure in their state. By including this in the proposal, the Secretary has circumvented the legal authority that has been given to the states.
This move has deep impacts to the mission of the Air National Guard. Not only does it give the Air Force a precedent for future moves and negate the authority of the governors of the states these Airmen serve, it also presents difficult challenges for the Airmen and families who have already committed to doing these missions as an Air Guard member.
On behalf of the Airmen all across the country that EANGUS represents, we strongly oppose any effort to circumvent the gubernatorial consent established in both Title 10 and Title 32 Federal Code, be it now with this legislative proposal for the Space Force or any future attempt to move capabilities from the Air National Guard. The Air Forceโs plan to forcibly transfer our Airmen into the Space Force is not only against current law, but also a disruption of service for the men and women conducting this mission.
EANGUS encourages our elected officials to work with the Armed Services Committee to block this effort and not allow it to be debated in the NDAA. EANGUS continues to advocate that these resources are more valuable and cost effective to our Nation by congress passing the Space National Guard Establishment Act of 2024 (S. 3697 & H.R. 3058). This legislation would establish the Space National Guard as the primary combat reserve of the Space Force, thus reconnecting Air Guard units performing these missions to their parent service in the most cost effective and timely manner.
