Despite Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall's reassurances, the governors are outraged at what they see as a Defense Department end-run around their authorities that they say could set a negative precedent.
"OMB’s opposition to establishing a SNG and directive to transfer current National Guard space missions to an unestablished 'Space Component' will create a 7–10 year gap in the capabilities Air National Guard Space Units provide today," the 51 Guard adjutant generals argue in a letter to President Joe Biden.
The Biden administration so far has pushed back on the idea, citing cost, but some powerful senators are on board and an NDAA fight is brewing on the Hill.
EASTAMPTON - At a somber vigil marked by grief, tears and flickering candles, Yvonne Coates felt oddly at ease Sunday night. It brings me comfort, as weird as that sounds, said the Pemberton Township woman, who joined a gathering of about 100 people who had lost loved ones to violent crime. Everybody around me feels the same and you don t have to explain anything, she said of participants at an event organized by the Burlington County Prosecutor s Office. Everybody has the the same hopes, they have the same sorrow, said Coates, whose gray hoodie carried a message for Norman Mosley, a nephew slain in a home-invasion robbery in September 2016.