Reject Air Force Overreach impacting the Air National Guard (LP 480)

The Department of the Air Force is pushing forward a legislative proposal (LP480) in the Senate which seeks to forcibly transfer Air National Guard units performing space missions into the U.S. Space Force without consent of the respective governors. We made considerable progress against LP480 in the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act, ultimately having the language removed, but our focus must now shift to the Senate version. With all 55 of the nation’s governors behind us, now is the time to make your voice heard.

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall formally approved Legislative Proposal 480 on March 15, 2024. LP480 would give the Secretary sweeping unilateral authority to transfer ANG units performing space units to the U.S. Space Force without the consent of the governors who oversee those units. Specifically, LP480 language states: “Such transfer shall occur without regard to section 104 of title 32, United States Code, or section 18238 of title 10, United States Code.” These two sections of federal law establish the command structure of the National Guard, including a requirement for governors to consent to any transfer of National Guard units out of their states. By including this line in LP480, the Department is effectively circumventing the longstanding legal authority given to states, thus setting a dangerous precedent in the future.

This move has deep impacts to the mission of the Air National Guard. Not only does it give the Air Force a precedent for future moves and negate the authority of the governors of the states these Airmen serve, it also presents difficult challenges for the Airmen and families who have already committed to the mission as an Air Guard member.

On behalf of the Airmen all across the country that EANGUS represents, we strongly oppose any effort to circumvent the gubernatorial consent established in both Title 10 and Title 32 Federal Code, be it now with this legislative proposal for the Space Force or any future attempt to move capabilities from the Air National Guard. The Air Force’s plan to forcibly transfer our Airmen into the Space Force is not only against current law, but also a disruption of service for the men and women conducting this mission.

The priority in the short term must be to prevent LP480 from being included in the Senate’s version of the NDAA. EANGUS recommends Congressional members work with the Armed Services Committees to achieve this goal. EANGUS, NGAUS and our coalition partners were successful in preventing LP480 language from being included in the House version of the NDAA, but the fight is not over. If LP480 language is included in the Senate NDAA, there is still a chance it could be signed into law in the final version of the bill.