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Several adjutants general are warning that, without a Space National Guard, states could lose their ability to easily access space resources crucial for domestic response missions.
Their warning comes as the new Space Force continues to take shape, less than two months after becoming the latest branch of the military. And it's a message they are sharing directly with Congress.
“We not only lose the manpower, we lose the capabilities and we lose the expertise,” said Maj. Gen. David Baldwin, the adjutant general of California, while speaking at the Pentagon on Wednesday. “We leverage our space experience from people that come from a space background and hold space [job specialties]. We leverage them every time that we activate on a state emergency mission for some aspect of that response.”
Space resources have proved to be crucial in spotting wildfires in California, Baldwin explained.
They help firefighters determine the size and direction of the fire and can help ground commanders conduct damage assets. He also said the resources can be utilized for a myriad of domestic response missions.
There is also a risk to the Space Force itself without a Space Guard. Currently, 1,500 Guardsmen across eight states and one territory are assigned to Guard space operations units. These units have been deployed overseas to help warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are also several space units in the National Guard that work 24/7 and have experience with satellite command and control.
But without a Space Guard, the new service could lose out on years — if not decades — of institutional knowledge and real-world experience.
“Really you lose the goodness of what the National Guard is all about,” said Maj. Gen. James O. Eifert, the adjutant general of Florida. “Having those citizen airmen, soldiers and space warriors that are connected to their community that bring that expertise from their civilian occupations into their military service. All that stuff is at risk if the Space Force becomes and active component-only force.”
The Pentagon has yet to decide on how the reserve component of the Space Force will be organized. However, the Air Force is scheduled to deliver a report to Capitol Hill on the subject March 19.
The establishment of the Space National Guard as the primary combat reserve component within the Space Force is a NGAUS priority.
