Space National Guard
Proposed National Guard component of the U.S. Space Force.
Last updated
The Space National Guard is the proposed National Guard component of the United States Space Force. Its creation has been debated since 2018, with cost estimates, legislative proposals, and shifting political support shaping the discussion. A 2020 Congressional Budget Office report put annual operating costs at $100 million for a smaller version, contradicting the National Guard Bureau's claim of cost neutrality. Larger proposals, encompassing about a third of the Space Force, would run $385 million to $490 million per year.
The debate intensified in 2024 when the Defense Department submitted Legislative Proposal 480 to transfer Air National Guard space units directly to the Space Force, bypassing gubernatorial consent. This sparked widespread opposition from governors, National Guard leaders, and members of Congress. In 2025, Senators Crapo and Hickenlooper introduced the Space National Guard Establishment Act, with a companion House bill from Representatives Crow and Boebert, seen as having better odds given Donald Trump's campaign promise to sign such legislation.
Quick Facts
- Proposed one-time facility cost
- $20 million
Facts from the source article.
Cost
A 2020 Congressional Budget Office report estimated that creating a Space National Guard as proposed by the National Guard Bureau would cost $100 million per year in operations and support, plus a one-time $20 million for new facilities. This contradicted the Bureau's claim that the Guard would be cost-neutral after a one-time expense. A larger version, about 33% of the Space Force, would cost $385 million to $490 million annually.
Proposal history
In September 2018, Air Force Major General Donald P. Dunbar wrote that a Space Force should include the Guard. Senators Joe Manchin and Jack Reed also expressed concern that the Department of Defense's proposal lacked a Space National Guard. In June 2019, Congressman Jason Crow introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 that would block transfers of personnel or resources to the Space Force until a Space National Guard was established by law, but the language was not in the final act.
On August 31, 2019, National Guard Bureau chief General Joseph Lengyel said a Space National Guard should be created. Two days later, Brigadier General Patrick Cobb confirmed the proposed Guard would absorb Air and Army National Guard space units. The Senate Armed Services Committee later voted to approve a markup of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 that would rename the Air National Guard to the Air and Space National Guard, which would likely prevent a separate Space Guard.
More in Military Space Program of the United States
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Space National Guard (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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