More governors are pressing the attack on what they perceive as the Pentagon’s total lack of regard for state concerns. Colorado officials already have asked the Air Force to spell out how it will support the state during wildfire season since state National Guardsmen are overseas. And, just last week, Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, who was in Washington to testify before the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves, questioned the urgency of many Pentagon moves relative to the Guard. She complained in a written statement about the lack of consultation when the Air Force decided to eliminate Delaware’s only Air National Guard flying unit as part of BRAC 2005, saying USAF tried “to sneak changes by while no one was looking.” North Caroline Gov. Michael Easley told commissioners that proposed realignment of “versatile” Army Guard combat units with combat support units “would result in a significant loss of emergency response and recovery capabilities … [and] impair the ability of governors to move quickly in the case of disaster events.”
The Space Force recently awarded SpaceX $739 million to launch nine missions for the Space Development Agency and National Reconnaissance Office over the next three years. Five of the awarded launches will be to build out SDA’s constellation of missile warning and tracking satellites in low-Earth orbit.
