DETROIT—Former President Donald Trump promised on Aug. 26 to create a Space National Guard if elected in November.
“The time has come to create a space National Guard as the primary combat reserve of the U.S. Space Force,” Trump said, eliciting widespread applause from some 1,000 National Guard officers gathered for a convention of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUSA).
The U.S. Space Force was created in December 2019 with a mission to secure the nation’s interests in, from, and to space.
Authorized by an act of Congress and signed by President Trump, the Space Force consolidated into a single entity space operations that had been ongoing under the Air force and other entities.
“One of my proudest achievements in my first term was to create Space Force, the first new branch of the armed forces in over 70 years,” Trump said.
The Army National Guard and Air National Guard serve as reserve units for their respective armed services. However, they are based in the states and are subject to the governors of those states.
Seven states maintain a Naval Militia similar to but distinct from the National Guard.
Trump’s statement came as Congress is considering Legislative Proposal 480, put forward by the Department of Defense (DOD), which seeks to transfer existing units of the National Guard that deal with space defense to the Space Force itself, as opposed to gathering them into a Space Force National Guard comparable to the Air National Guard.
Trump has joined a number of lawmakers and governors in objecting to the DOD’s proposal. A group of 85 bipartisan senators and representatives wrote to the chairs of the Armed Services Committees in both houses urging that the proposal be rejected.
“To be clear, when individuals sign up for the National Guard, they are serving their country and their community. Congress shouldn’t abandon this model,” the lawmakers wrote in May.
In April, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, joined by eight other state governors, wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asking him to withdraw the request.
The governors objected to the reorganization of the National Guard without their input and to what they called “contempt toward the federal-state relationship.”
“There has therefore been no exchange of views, information, or advice on this matter. It came as a complete surprise to the nation’s governors,” they wrote, asking that the proposal be withdrawn and the matter be discussed with them, “consistent with federal law.”
Some officers at the NGUSA convention were supportive of the creation of a Space National Guard rather than federalizing existing space-oriented units within the National Guard.
“Many states are ready to start,” an adjutant general in the National Guard who asked not to be named told The Epoch Times. “I support it,” he said, adding that he did not support Legislative Proposal 480.
A National Guard officer familiar with the proposal said the creation of a Space National Guard would be cost-effective and would help the Guard retain talent.
“You just change the name tapes, change the affiliation from Air National Guard to Space National Guard, and they keep doing what they’re doing,” the officer told The Epoch Times.
“It’s really important for us to retain the skill set of the Air National Guard members doing the space missions,” he added, noting that being able to choose where to live is a value to Guard members.“If you live in Colorado, you can stay in Colorado. If you live in Florida, you can stay in Florida and continue to do that job.”
A third officer told The Epoch Times that the National Guard is sometimes unfairly seen as resistant to change. “We’ve changed a lot over the last few years,” the officer said. The objection to Legislative Proposal 480 centers on the precedent it would set in moving Guard members from state to federal control.
The House Armed Services Committee approved its version of Legislative Proposal 480 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2025 but amended it to require a governor’s consent for the transfer of an Air National Guard unit to the U.S. Space Force.
The Senate has not acted on its version of the bill.
Air National Guard units in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, New York, Ohio, and Guam now conduct space operations.
The U.S. Space Force’s space-based capabilities include the command and control of military satellites, the provision of secure communications, weather and navigation services, threat warnings to other armed services, and the tracking of all satellites and space debris orbiting the earth. Ground-based and space-based systems track missile launches globally to prevent surprise attacks, according to the DOD website.
The Epoch Times has requested comment on the possible creation of a Space National Guard from the National Guard Association of the United States.
