Summary
- Trump plans to create a Space National Guard and build an “Iron Dome”
- The Space Force split from the US Air Force in 2019
- Pentagon rejects new Space National Guard and supports transfers
It’s election season in the US, and now Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump has stated that if elected, he would create a Space National Guard and build “an Iron Dome” around it. The 2024 election is not the only election campaign currently taking place – the US is in the midst of a new arms and space race with China. The Space Force was created to protect American assets in space from threats from China and Russia (meanwhile, the US Air Force no longer feels safe operating at its air bases due to Chinese threats).
Trump says he would send Space National Guard and Iron Dome
Former President Donald Trump said at the National Guard Association of the United States conference in Detroit that he would establish a Space National Guard. He said: “It is time to create a Space National Guard as the primary combat reserve of the U.S. Space Force. As President, I will sign historic legislation creating a Space National Guard.”
Photo: US Space Force
The Space National Guard is the planned national guard of the United States Space Force. In 2019, then-President Trump separated the Space Force from the United States Air Force. Trump called the creation of a Space National Guard a critical step to ensure that the United States continues to expand its space-based military defense.
Supporters of the move point out that about 10% of the current Space Force operations workforce comes from Air National Guard units. They also say the lack of a separate Space Force Guard structure results in troops being “disconnected from the job.”
Trump also stated: “And we will build a large iron missile defense system around our country. Other countries have said Israel has it. You know, (former President) Ronald Reagan wanted to do that many years ago, but we didn’t have the technology then. But now we have the technology.”
Experts point out that building such a system would be complicated and expensive for the United States (the United States is about 445 times larger than Israel). There are also doubts about how effectively the system could intercept short-range missiles.
Photo: Space Force
Trump described the creation of the Space Force as “one of my greatest achievements in my first term” and then he boasted that the United States, because of its founding, was now “leader in space in all armed forces.”
Biden administration plans to relocate Air National Guardsmen
In April, the Biden administration proposed integrating Air National Guard members into the Space Force. This put the Pentagon at odds with state governors because their permission is required to approve changes to National Guard units and move those members to the Space Force. The Defense Department has asked Congress to override that requirement so it can move the units without the governor’s approval.
Photo: Space Force
Pentagon officials oppose the creation of a new Space National Guard, saying it would be less costly and complicated to transfer some Guard missions to the Space Force on a one-time basis than to create a new reserve force. This has met with resistance from the Guardsmen themselves. Some Air National Guard members involved in space missions have said they would rather retire than be transferred to the Space Force. The proposal would affect about 1,000 Air National Guardsmen.
Resistance from state governors
In April, the governors of 48 states and five territories wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressing their opposition to the transfer of Guardsmen to the Space Force.
Defense News explains: “They (the state governors) argued that the move proposed by President Joe Biden’s administration as an alternative to creating a standalone space National Guard “diminishes the authority of governors in their states and territories and undermines long-standing partnerships, precedents, military readiness and operational effectiveness..'”
The annual defense appropriations committees of the House and Senate are also currently at odds on the issue. A compromise is expected in the coming weeks, but there is no clear solution yet. To some extent, however, the creation of a Space National Guard could be more of an incremental step, formalizing something that is already developing.
Newsweek writes: “Seven states – Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, New York, Arkansas and Ohio – already have National Guard space operations.“The publication also states: “On June 18, General Hokansen, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told lawmakers in testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Defense, “We do have a space National Guard; we’re just not willing to admit it.”.'”
Space Force
Space may be the final frontier, but currently it is the U.S. military’s smallest area of operations. Space Force officials have requested a final strength of 9,800 troops for fiscal year 2025, making it the smallest branch of the U.S. military. The proposed fiscal year 2025 budget for the Space Force is $29.4 billion, while the Air Force is requesting a total of $217.5 billion.
Photo: Space Force
The US Space Force is unusual in that it is a military branch that does not actually fight in the traditional sense of the word. The Space Force states that its mission is to “Secure our nation’s interests in, from and to space.” The Space Force logo is said to resemble the star Wars Logo, while the new uniforms resemble those in the television series Battlestar Galactica.
The Space Force is the first new branch of the armed forces since 1947 (when the US Air Force was split from the Army). Time will tell if this is the last branch – after allUkraine has just set up the world’s first drone force.the so-called unmanned system forces.
