{"id":25338,"date":"2021-04-13T21:11:19","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T21:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/04\/13\/do-we-need-a-space-national-guard-colorado-says-yes-but-congress-is-not-so-sure\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:42:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:42:54","slug":"do-we-need-a-space-national-guard-colorado-says-yes-but-congress-is-not-so-sure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/04\/13\/do-we-need-a-space-national-guard-colorado-says-yes-but-congress-is-not-so-sure\/","title":{"rendered":"Do we need a Space National Guard? Colorado says yes, but Congress is not so sure."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Colorado House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill Friday<\/a> that lays the legal framework for the state to establish the Colorado Space National Guard. But before any Coloradans head to the recruiting station, they should know there\u2019s a catch \u2014 the U.S. Congress has to authorize a Space National Guard first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new state legislation will allow \u201c[Colorado\u2019s] Air National Guard space units to transition to the Space National Guard once the federal government establishes the Space National Guard,\u201d according to its summary. The bill also updates all state laws referencing the branches of the armed forces \u2014 such as employment protection laws \u2014 to include the active-duty Space Force as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colorado is a longtime hub of military space operations, including the temporary home of U.S. Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base. The state also hosts space-focused troops at Schriever Air Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Buckley Air Force Base, and the Army\u2019s Space and Missile Defense Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill, which is currently under consideration in the state Senate, is written so that the Space National Guard portions only take effect \u201cif the federal government creates the Space National Guard in the \u2018FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greg Dorman, legislative director for the Colorado Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, notes that the \u201cColorado National Guard was home to the first Air Guard and Army Guard space units.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe expect a seamless transition and House Bill 21-1231 is a proactive way to ensure that we are prepared as a state to support that effort,\u201d Dorman said in an email to Military Times Tuesday. \u201cColorado National Guard space units and the over 300 National Guard space operators that make up those units will reorganize within existing resources with no interruption of readiness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where does the Space National Guard stand in Congress?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not clear when \u2014 or if \u2014 Congress will establish the Space National Guard, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act prohibited the Defense Department from establishing any reserve components of the Space Force until DoD submits a draft plan to the House and Senate Armed Services committees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Pentagon spokesman told Military Times on Tuesday that report, due March 31, is still in progress. Until the Space Force reserve component study is presented to Congress and details emerge about the FY 2022 NDAA, the Space Guard remains in limbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Colorado National Guard has participated in preparing the report, said Dorman. Florida and New York are also in the working group, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Colorado moves toward proactively green-lighting the introduction of a Space National Guard in the state, the federal effort could find a proponent in the state\u2019s former adjutant general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lt. Gen. Michael Loh, director of the Air National Guard, has publicly backed the creation of a space counterpart and now holds a pivotal seat from which to advocate for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see how we have a Space Force without a Space Guard,\u201d Loh, then a major general and adjutant general for the Colorado National Guard, said last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other senior Guard officials, such as Florida National Guard adjutant general Air Force Maj. Gen. James Eifert, have advocated for a Space Guard as well. Eifert argued in a July 2020 Military Times op-ed that \u201cWe are the perfect partner for the newly formed United States Space Force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t