COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado—Prime Pentagon officers defended their proposal to maneuver space-focused items from the Air Nationwide Guard into the House Drive with out the consent of governors, arguing {that a} House Nationwide Guard doesn’t make sense.
The service in March despatched a legislative proposal to Congress that might enable the division to maneuver individuals into the House Drive from the Guard in seven states, shortly drawing rebuke from Guard supporters.
However the influence of this transfer is “negligible,” Air Drive Secretary Frank Kendall instructed reporters Wednesday, including that it’s a “distinctive scenario” and no different companies have plans to soak up Air Nationwide Guard members.
“We have had a lot, rather more political consideration over this challenge than it deserves, in my thoughts. We’re speaking about a number of hundred individuals. The numbers for any state are lower than I believe 2% at most of their Guard individuals, and so they’re solely a handful of states which are affected,” Kendall mentioned at House Symposium.
Whether or not to construct a House Nationwide Guard has been a long-standing debate because the creation of the House Drive, with opponents arguing it will value an excessive amount of and saying states don’t want army area forces.
“The governors could have a unique view, however I do not see a cause why a state wants a House Drive militia,” Kendall mentioned.
Each Kendall and Chief of House Operations Probability Saltzman pointed to new laws included within the 2024 protection invoice, referred to as the “House Drive Personnel Act,” which provides Guardians extra flexibility and permits them to change between part-time and full-time work.
“Folks ought to look very fastidiously at this earlier than they make a snap judgment about whether or not they’re snug with the change or not,” Kendall mentioned.
A excessive share of guardsmen would fairly depart the Guard than switch to the House Drive, based on latest studies.
Requested about these polls, Kendall mentioned, “I believe these individuals haven’t seen what their choices are but beneath part-time House Drive, or full-time House Drive for that matter. And I believe that they’ll discover a variety of actually enticing [things] about it once they truly get an opportunity to take a look at what their selections actually could be.”
“We’re not going to leap off the cliff,” Saltzman mentioned. “We will section this in over time, leverage the individuals which are there as we slowly begin to do it so we are able to each reduce the chance to mission and reduce the ache related to whether or not individuals wish to volunteer to return over or whether or not they wish to keep a part of the Guard.”
The latest protection coverage invoice additionally requires the Division of the Air Drive to conduct a examine to take a look at all of the completely different choices for the 14 space-focused items throughout the Nationwide Guard.
“The worst possibility, and I believe that’s what our report goes to point out, is a separate new House Guard for a number of hundred individuals. It does not make any sense. It’ll value to manage. There may be not in my thoughts any expectation that it will develop and it’ll be administratively tough,” Kendall mentioned.
The division is sending the report “shortly” to Congress, however he mentioned it is not going to change the Air Drive’s place a couple of House Nationwide Guard, he mentioned.