Space Force Will Begin Assuming National Guard Missions in October

The Space Force will begin assuming space missions currently conducted by the Air National Guard starting at the beginning of October, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

When asked about the timeline for the moves, a Department of the Air Force spokesperson confirmed to Air & Space Forces Magazine that Guard space missions would begin transferring to the Space Force starting Oct. 1, 2025.

The lengthy debate over the future of the Guard’s space missions started almost as soon as the Space Force was created in 2019 as a new service under the Department of the Air Force. Space-focused missions in the Active-Duty Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps have been transferred to the Space Force.

But there are still space-focused Air National Guard personnel. Responsibility for those units’ missions is now set to transfer to the Space Force in the fall. The move is likely to spark criticism from some governors, lawmakers, and advocacy groups who favor creating a separate Space National Guard instead.

In late 2025, the Space Force gained the legal authority to assume the Guard’s space missions, a move that is now set to start to occur in a few months. The moves in question involve units in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, and Ohio.

The Department of the Air Force has the authority to transfer up to 578 personnel. The Space Force is working on a model for part-time Guardians, but that is unlikely to be ready to go by October. The future of nearly 600 space-focused Air National Guardsmen hangs in the balance.

If Guardsmen do not want to join the Space Force, they cannot be transferred to the service without their consent. A provision of the law also requires the Space Force “to the maximum extent practicable” not to relocate any individuals for three years following the transfer, and to keep units in the state where they are now located for 10 years, even after they switch services.

The Air National Guard must retrain and reassign any Guard member who decides against transferring. The law does not require the consent of the governors whose states house those units.

Ever since the Air Force ceased performing space missions, the Department of the Air Force, the National Guard Bureau, and congressional lawmakers have been wrangling over what to do about the Air National Guard’s space mission.

The Space Force insists that transferring the mission to its service is the most effective and efficient solution. Under the Biden administration, a Department of the Air Force study delivered to lawmakers last spring said transferring the Guard’s space-focused missions was “by far the most advisable” option, a decision endorsed at the time by the office of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Last May, National Guard officials said their own survey found 70 percent of respondents would prefer to retrain or retire rather than join the Space Force.

The Space Force Personnel Management Act, part of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, allowed the service to have part-time and full-time Guardians in one component, an alternative to the part-time National Guard and Reserve setup that exists for the Air Force and Army.

Such an arrangement would be unique among the armed services. However, the exact timeline for how the service will incorporate part-time Guardians remains to be seen.

The Trump administration and its Secretary of the Air Force, Troy Meink, are now following through on the NDAA’s prescription to transfer the Air National Guard’s space-focused missions into the Space Force.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers who proposed the Space National Guard Establishment Act in March to override the previous legislation, is likely to oppose such a move. President Donald Trump also promised he would create a Space National Guard on the campaign trail last summer.