US Air National Guard Opposes Transfer to Space Force Without Governors’ Consent

WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) - A host of US Air National Guard leaders from various states in the United States on Friday spoke during a conference call against Legislative Proposal 480 that would transfer the Air Guard's space units to the US Space Force without the consent of the governors of the impacted states.

Legislative Proposal 480, which the Defense Department submitted for consideration to the Senate Armed Services Committee, has drawn a storm of criticism and strong opposition in the ranks of the US National Guard and among state governors.

On April 29, 53 governors of all US states and territories signed a letter to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding him to retract the submission of the LP 480 as it would break the law and "deeply damage the relationship between states and the federal government."

The governors estimated that the proposed change would affect the lives of about 1,000 people in the Air National Guard space units across seven US states, including Colorado, Alaska, California, Hawaii and Florida.

"The Air Force's Legislative Proposal 480 would set a dangerous precedent and jeopardize our national security and military readiness by undermining the authority of the governors over the National Guard units in their states," Brig. Gen. Michael Bruno from the Colorado Air National Guard said during the call.

According to Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen. Daniel Hokanson, Proposal 480 seeks Congress' permission to allow the Air Force to bypass federal laws and take away 14 Guard units across seven states without the consent of these states' respective governors.

In other words, the proposed legislation would create the basis for removing 14 units from state control and reassigning them to the federal government, which, according to the governors, would seriously disrupt gubernatorial authority over the National Guard.

Instead of transferring space units to the Space Force, Gen. Bruno suggested establishing a Space National Guard, adding that it would cost zero dollars to the Defense Department to accomplish that.