Governors at odds with Pentagon plan to move National Guard units to Space Force
By
Mike Brest
May 2, 2024 5:33 pm
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Nearly every governor opposes a Pentagon plan to unilaterally shift space-focused Air National Guard units from their purview to the U.S. Space Force.
The governors of 48 states and five territories signed on to a letter earlier this week to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressing their opposition to a proposal sent to Congress in March that would allow for the Air National Guard space operations to be incorporated into Space Force. It would effectively remove the governors’ authority over those units.
“The proposal to move National Guard units to the space force without consultation or approval from governors is totally unacceptable,” Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT), chairman of the National Governors Association, said in a statement.
The governors of American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands also signed on to the letter.
“National Guard assets are critical components of states’ and territories’ responses to crises. Governors must maintain full authority as Commanders in Chief of these assets to effectively protect operational readiness and America’s communities,” the governors said. “Legislation that sidesteps, eliminates or otherwise reduces Governors’ authority within their states and territories undermines longstanding partnerships, precedence, military readiness and operational efficacy.”
Specifically, the proposal seeks to waive Section 104 of Title 32 and Section 18238 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code, which states that “no change in the branch, organization or allotment of a unit located entirely within a state may be made without the approval of its governor” and that National Guard units cannot “be relocated or withdrawn under this chapter without the consent of the governor of the state.”
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told a Senate panel in late March that this is “a unique situation,” and he confirmed, “There’s absolutely no intention to make any other changes, moving things out of the guard.”
He also said that roughly 700 guard members will eventually settle into roles in the Space Force in this plan.
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/2988710/governors-odds-pentagon-plan-move-national-guard-units-space-force/
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