Costs of Creating a Space National Guard
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JUNE 2020 Costs of Creating a Space National Guard The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year additional costs beyond those incurred for existing units 2020 established the Space Force as a new, independent in the Air National Guard and Army National Guard military service within the Department of the Air Force. that have space-related missions. Specifically: Intended to conduct operations that involve space—such as maintaining satellites that are used for communications, • CBO considered a smaller version of a Space National observing the weather, and monitoring other countries’ Guard that is based on a February 2020 proposal missile launches—the Space Force is currently authorized by senior National Guard personnel. Under that to operate only with regular (active component) proposal, 1,500 personnel in existing Air National personnel. Guard and Army National Guard units would be transferred to the new Space National Guard. CBO The creation of this new service has led to various pro- estimates that DoD would incur about $100 million posals to establish a Space National Guard, which would in additional costs annually to operate and support supplement the Space Force’s active component forces this smaller Space National Guard. Creation of such as required. Such proposals have typically focused on a force also would probably result in onetime costs of existing units within the Air National Guard and Army about $20 million for the construction of additional National Guard that have space-related missions, includ- facilities. ing national space functions (such as missile warning and missile defense or space tracking) and deployable mis- • CBO also considered a larger version of a Space sions (primarily involving satellite communications). The National Guard that would be about one-third Department of Defense (DoD) is studying the issue of the size of the Space Force, the same size that the whether to create a reserve component for the Space Force, Air National Guard currently is in relation to the either a Space National Guard or a Space Force Reserve, Air Force. (Unlike the first option, this one is not that would be similar to those of the other services.1 based on a specific public proposal.) Under that approach, the Space National Guard would consist In this report, the Congressional Budget Office examines of 4,900 to 5,800 personnel. CBO estimates that two options for establishing a Space National Guard DoD would incur $385 million to $490 million in that would support the Space Force. In its analysis, additional costs annually to operate and support this CBO focused on a smaller version of a prospective Space larger Space National Guard. Creation of this larger National Guard and a larger version, and estimated the force also would probably result in onetime costs of $400 million to $900 million for constructing 1. Throughout this report, “reserve component” refers collectively additional facilities and equipping the new units. to the nonactive component of the U.S. military, which encompasses the National Guard and reserves. Notes: Unless otherwise indicated, the years referred to in this report are federal fiscal years, which run from October 1 to September 30 and are designated by the calendar year in which they end. All costs are expressed in 2021 dollars. Costs for years before 2021 have been adjusted for inflation with the gross domestic product price index from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2 COSTS OF CREATING A SPACE NATIONAL GUARD JUNE 2020 A reserve component to support the Space Force could functions (just as the Marine Corps depends on the Navy be structured in other ways—including a Space Force for such functions). The report does not include a plan Reserve that would operate exclusively at the federal for the organization of Space Force reserve component level, rather than a National Guard that would allow for (RC) forces, stating that the matter would be addressed shared control between the federal government and states in a report to be issued in March 2020. The department and territories. However, the costs of National Guard has not yet issued that report. or reserve units would not differ significantly. The size of the reserve component would be the primary factor History and Organization of National Guard and affecting costs. Reserve Forces All U.S. armed services other than the Space Force have Background an active component and a reserve component. Each ser- The creation of the Space Force has led to various pro- vice’s RC includes a reserve (the Air Force Reserve, Army posals to create a Space National Guard. Those proposals Reserve, Navy Reserve, and Marine Corps Reserve). The have been influenced by the historical experience and Air Force and the Army (but not the Navy or Marine organization of existing National Guard and reserve Corps) also have National Guards (the Air National forces. Guard and the Army National Guard). Thus, for exam- ple, the entire Army is composed of the regular Army, Creation of the Space Force the Army Reserve, and the Army National Guard. Enacted in December 2019, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92) The primary difference between service reserves and established the Space Force as a new military service National Guards is that reserves are organized as single within the Department of the Air Force. That act did not entities wholly under federal government control (as create either a Space National Guard or a Space Force provided by title 10 of the U.S. Code). By contrast, Reserve, so, at present, the Space Force has legal authority National Guards are organized on the basis of states and to operate only with active component (AC) military territories, with legal authorities that allow for hybrid personnel. state–territory and federal control (as provided by titles 10 and 32 of the U.S. Code). Governors’ authorities DoD is still developing its plans to organize and equip extend only to Guard units within their respective state the Space Force. In its budget request for fiscal year or territory: The governor of Texas, for example, may call 2021, the department indicates that the Space Force will up (activate) and command the Texas National Guard consist of 6,400 military personnel in 2021 and grow but not Guard forces from other states.3 to a force of 8,100 military personnel by 2025. At least in the short term, the Department of the Air Force will Before the Vietnam War, RC forces were considered to create the Space Force primarily by transferring existing represent additional increments of capability that could Air Force organizations and units with space-related be maintained at relatively low cost in peacetime and missions to the Space Force. Although there are units then activated in times of conflict when active compo- with space-related missions in the other military services, nent forces were insufficient to deal with the military DoD has not yet issued a plan to transfer those units to challenges (the “strategic reserve” model). The combina- the Space Force. tion of very small AC ground forces during peacetime and this traditional view of reserves as providing addi- The most recent guidance detailing the Department of tional increments of capability led the United States to the Air Force’s plans for structuring the Space Force is rely heavily on RC units in military conflicts. During the described in a February 2020 report titled Comprehensive Vietnam War, however, in a break from historical prece- Plan for the Organizational Structure of the U.S. Space dent, policymakers chose to limit reliance on RC forces. Force.2 That report indicates that the new service will depend on the Air Force for many support and overhead 3. All state National Guards are also part of the United States National Guard (which is administered by the National Guard 2. See Department of the Air Force, Comprehensive Plan for the Bureau). For example, the Army National Guard is part of both Organizational Structure of the U.S. Space Force, Report to the Army and the United States National Guard. The same Congressional Committees (February 2020), https://tinyurl.com/ applies at the state level. For example, the Texas Army National y9mm8zth (PDF, 824 KB). Guard is part of both the Army and the Texas National Guard. JUNE 2020 COSTS OF CREATING A SPACE NATIONAL GUARD 3 In the post–Vietnam War era, DoD has transitioned are expected to be important for RC units in the away from the strategic reserve model and instead Space Force, transferring the current Air National operates under what is known as the Total Force Policy. Guard and Army National Guard units that conduct Although each military service interprets this policy space missions to a Space National Guard—as somewhat differently, the policy in general requires the outlined in the first option that CBO analyzed— services to integrate RC personnel and units into their could allow them to do so. plans by using such units when they are best able to meet needs or perform missions. That approach differs from • U.S. forces routinely employ joint commands and do simply assuming that AC personnel and units should be not require units to be in the same service in order prioritized in all circumstances and RC units used only to employ them.4 Leaving current space-related units when AC capabilities are insufficient to meet needs or where they are—in the Air National Guard and the perform missions. Thus, DoD does not generally operate Army National Guard—could still allow them to under the assumption that AC units will be the preferred support the Space Force. response for every mission; for many missions, RC units, or a mix of AC and RC units, will be the preferred Costs of a Smaller Space National Guard response or perhaps the only possible response.