There are compelling reasons for creating a Space National Guard to complement the Space Force.
Building this new service from the ground up, we want to get it right. I was directly involved in multiple assessments regarding what reserve component augmentation of the new Space Force should look like. In each assessment, senior leaders of the Space Force, the Air Force, and the National Guard Bureau were in complete agreement.
We need a Space National Guard.
The space mission is not new for the National Guard. For more than 25 years, the Air National Guard has been conducting essential Space Force missions as part of the Air Force. These critical missions include missile warning, space electronic warfare, and military satellite communications. But by orphaning these space warriors in the Air National Guard and away from the Space Force, we undermine readiness and force integration. Put simply, it will compromise the nation’s effective defense.
Thirty years of war in the Middle East clearly demonstrated the capability of Army and Air National Guard Forces.
In the combat environment, National Guard forces are indistinguishable from their regular Army and Air Force counterparts. Unique service culture, training, and standards for soldiers, and airmen are identical throughout all components of a service. We owe the same commitment to our future space war fighters. It is imperative that Space Force operational units seamlessly integrate into the fight, regardless of whether they are active service or National Guard.
Some wildly inflated cost estimates have been offered against a prospective Space National Guard.
Let’s focus on facts. There are only seven states with Space units. There are no plans or expectations to require every state to have Space Guard units. As the former chief of the National Guard Bureau and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I know significant study has gone into factoring the cost of creating a Space National Guard. The numbers confirm that there will be no additional costs to move the current structure from the Air National Guard to the Space National Guard. None.
The Space Force may indeed grow over time, and if that happens, it will incur costs. But with the option to bed force structure in the National Guard, where the nonmobilized unit costs are lower than active units, will actually save resources. Consider, also, that trained Space Force professionals can continue to serve in the Space National Guard if they decide to transition out of the active forces. We should bear in mind that Space Force professionals will find increasing temptation to join lucrative civilian careers in the rapidly growing commercial space sector.
The National Guard is the country’s essential dual-use force. We need a Space National Guard that is an integral part of the Space Force. Congress should have done this when they created the Space Force in 2019.
It is not too late — Congress should act now.
Retired Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel was the 28th chief of the National Guard Bureau and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from August 2016-August 2020.
