Air National Guard Units ‘Orphaned’ Amid Space National Guard Debate – By Mary Shinn (The Gazette/Colorado Springs) / May 15, 2023
When the Space Force was established in late 2019, more than 1,000 Air National Guard members focused on space missions were left behind. A debate about their future is still raging, leaving the airmen in limbo some three years later.
Lawmakers are debating a new Space National Guard that could leave the 16 space-focused guard units, including seven in Colorado, in place. They’ve come to be known as “orphan units,” left behind in an Air Force that is no longer technically responsible for training or equipping them.
The Space Force could also start a new model backed by Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, that would allow active duty guardians to work part time and hold civilian jobs. In an October 2022 policy statement the Biden administration said it supported transitioning the guard missions into the active Space Force to avoid the cost of a Space National Guard, a contested number.
While Congress weighs options, Colorado airmen don’t have clarity to plan their lives.
