The United States Space Force was established nearly three years ago to maintain America's “edge in space,” but current and former leaders in the National Guard believe lawmakers' denial of a reserve group under the fledgling military branch is undermining that mission.
Former National Guard Bureau chief Gen. Joseph Lengyel (USAF, Ret.) and Adjutant Gen. of Colorado U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Laura Clellan discussed the need for a Space National Guard during an online roundtable event Friday.
When the Space Force was created, active duty Air Force units with space-related missions transferred to the new service. But the 1,000-plus individuals in the National Guard's 14 space units spanning seven states — including Colorado — were left under the Air Force, effectively “orphaning” those units, Clellan said.
Without a corresponding reserve component, Clellan and Lengyel argued, the Space Force lacks mobilization, training effectiveness and standardized culture.
“I was there when they had these painful discussions and made the decision to move the space mission — because of its unique aspects of its own domain — out (of the Air Force) and into its own service,” Lengyel said. “The only way a reserve component can be credible and can be effective is if it goes with it.”
Lengyel said the Department of Defense has studied the issue since 2019 and has, along with the secretary of the Air Force, chief of…
