Airmen assigned to the 138th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Colorado Air National Guard, perform maintenance on a high mobility antenna during Resolute Space 2025 at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, July 12, 2025. RS25 is a large-scale exercise conducted by the U.S. Space Force, nested under the 2025 Department of the Air Force exercise series. (Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jade M. Caldwell) Image: DoD
By: FEDweek StaffThe Space Force is set to take over all space-related missions now conducted by the Air National Guard. The Air and Space Forces Association reported that the change will begin October 1, 2025.
The switchover would mark the end of a debate about which entity would be conducting those missions, that arose soon after the Space Force was established in 2019.
Existing Guard personnel assigned to space missions would transfer to the Space Force. The related A&SFA article stated that the Department of the Air Force is currently allowed to transfer as many as 578 personnel. The change is expected to garner outcries of resistance and objections from state and national officials and legislators, as well as advocacy groups, A&SFA reported.
The change – set to affect personnel in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, and Ohio at the outset – also could be affected by a law that states no service member can be transferred to the Space Force without their consent, as well as other provisions that limit when and for how long Guard members can be transferred.
The National Guard in each state would be responsible for retraining those who don’t want to switch to the Space Force. And according to a National Guard survey, some 70 percent of all respondents indicated they would rather stay put.
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