New amendments added to Congress’ must-pass annual defense policy bill would allow the Space Force to take over certain state-controlled Air National Guard space units — despite protests from every governor in the country and existing legislation to create a Space National Guard instead.
Two amendments submitted earlier this month, sponsored by Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, would allow the planned transfer of Air National Guardsmen with space missions to the active-duty Space Force as soon as October. Notably, Hickenlooper and Crapo introduced the bill earlier this year that would reverse such a move and, instead, establish a Space National Guard.
Also, President Donald Trump said in August 2024 on the campaign trail that “as president, I will sign historic legislation creating a Space National Guard.”
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Last year, outrage poured in from 55 governors of states and territories, more than 120 lawmakers, and National Guard advocates over Legislative Proposal 480 — a Biden administration-era move that went around existing U.S. law and state governors to transfer Air National Guard units with space-related missions into the active-duty Space Force instead.
Following Trump’s campaign promise to create a Space National Guard, a bipartisan group of lawmakers from both the House and Senate made efforts to stop such a move and create a new reserve component.
But that effort, which appeared to have presidential and congressional support, seems to be losing steam. Spokespeople for the White House did not respond to Military.com’s questions asking whether Trump was still dedicated to his campaign promise.
The new amendments proposed by Crapo and Hickenlooper include language that allows the planned transfer of nearly 600 Guardsmen to the active-duty Space Force on “a one-time, voluntary basis.” The legislation seeks to establish a “future precedent” that such a move can’t take place outside of existing laws, which require approval and consent from state governors.
“The transfer authorized under this section shall not occur until after the secretary of the Air Force has engaged in sustained consultation with the governors of affected states and submitted to the committees on armed services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on findings and recommendations related to the transfer of units and voluntary transfers of personnel from the Air National Guard and into the Space Force resulting from such consultation,” according to one of the amendments.
The amendments would still have to be added to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, and would have to be passed by Congress and signed by the president to become law.
Despite his amendment, Crapo told Military.com in a statement that he remains opposed to the legislative proposal to transfer Air Guardsmen to the Space Force.
“Although I remain opposed to LP480 and its move to strip governors’ authority over their National Guard units, I am working with my colleagues on an agreeable path forward that ensures if the transfer goes forward, it does not set precedent,” Crapo told Military.com in a statement.
A spokesperson for Crapo did not respond to questions about how the amendments fall short of creating a Space National Guard, which was the aim of his bill introduced earlier this year.
Hickenlooper, in a statement to Military.com, advocated for a Space National Guard and, similar to Crapo, said the amendments aim to stop the situation created by Legislative Proposal 480 from happening again.
“It’s been the duty of governors for over a century to maintain the readiness of their National Guard units,” said Hickenlooper. “A Space National Guard is in America’s best interest. If the Department of Defense chooses to proceed with LP480, we put bipartisan guidance in place so it doesn’t set a precedent.”
It was unclear whether the House will take up a similar approach to the controversial transfer plans. As of Tuesday, no similar amendments had been submitted to the House Rules Committee.
The National Guard Association of the United States, one of the military’s biggest lobbying organizations, made the creation of a Space National Guard and the repeal of Legislative Proposal 480 one of its biggest priorities last year. The organization said the transfer would cause the military to lose talent — with one survey earlier this year showing that only 8% of Air National Guardsmen want to transfer to the active-duty Space Force.
“It was said this will only happen one time. It’ll never happen again,” John Goheen, a National Guard Association spokesperson, told Military.com. “So, what the senators are doing, is they’re ensuring the door is closed.”
Despite the looming transfer, National Guard Association of the United States officials said they are still pushing for the creation of a Space National Guard.
“We have not given up on that fight,” Goheen added.
A July 30 memo from Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, reviewed by Military.com and confirmed as authentic and accurate by service officials, detailed the plan to transfer the Air National Guard units to the Space Force.
Units set to be transferred, according to the memo, include: the 213th Space Warning Squadron from Alaska; the 148th Space Operations Squadron and 216th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron from California; the 137th Space Warning Squadron and 138th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron from Colorado; the 114th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron from Florida; the 150th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron and 109th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron from Hawaii; and the 126th Intelligence Squadron from Ohio.
“These space functions currently performed by the ANG will transfer to the Space Force effective 1 October, 2025,” a Department of the Air Force spokesperson told Military.com.
Meanwhile, the Space Force is still working to create its own, unique part-time, active-duty service model that was supposed to be similar to a reserve component, but applications aren’t anticipated to be opened until 2026, Military.com previously reported.
But, in practice, the part-time service path is shaping up to be vastly different from the Guard and reserves.
In a town hall earlier this month, Space Force and Air Force Reserve senior leaders explained the part-time service model to the 310th Space Wing at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado.
The news release from the town hall specified that “part-time assignments are designed to offer flexibility to Guardians whose life circumstances may change — not to serve as a career path like the reserve.”
“We recognize the current capacity that you are in,” Col. Matthew Holston, the Space Force’s Personnel Management Act integration director, said in the news release. “So, what we’ve done is put some caveats in there to allow for a slightly elongated opportunity, and potentially more opportunities to serve in a part-time work role.”
“However, our long-term vision is not necessarily this career-long, part-time work role,” he said.
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