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PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Space Force is moving ahead with plans to pull talent from Air National Guard units to help build up the new military service — but governors remain opposed and argue it tramples on their rights to retain control over their state units.
The plan would affect only 578 service members across six states and the Air National Guard headquarters and augment the Space Force without creating a separate Space Force National Guard.
In the 2025 defense bill, Congress mandated that those positions move over to the Space Force along with active Air Force personnel.
However, last month, the National Governors Association said the transfers violate their right to retain control over their state units.
“We urge that any transfers cease immediately and that there be direct and open engagement with governors,” the Association said in April.
This plan violates the constitutional separation of powers and infringes on the states’ authority to manage its own national guard forces.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories ending the week from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:
NATIONAL SECURITY
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard fired two top officials on the National Intelligence Council who disputed Trump Venezuela gang claims, a move aimed at ending the “weaponization and politicization” of the intelligence community.
Trump’s Golden Dome homeland missile defense system’s price tag will likely exceed half a trillion dollars.
How Golden Dome will help create space superiority. The projected missile defense system could push the U.S. military to broaden its thinking on how to support space operations.
HOMELAND SECURITY
DHS wants to buy a new long-range $50 million Gulfstream jet to replace an aging one used by Secretary Noem and top Coast Guard and DHS officials.
A San Diego-based Coast Guard crew on May 10 stopped a vessel smuggling illegal migrants by firing four shots into the boat’s engine,ending a dramatic chase.
DHS wants 20,000 National Guard troops to help with immigration enforcement.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
DOD will begin screening troops for gender dysphoria during their routine physicals in an effort to boot transgender service members from the armed forces.
Troops with a history of gender dysphoria or who show symptoms of the condition will be subject to medical record reviews if they don’t self-report.
During a speech to U.S. troops stationed in Qatar, and counter to current defense budget plans, President Trump promised service members a “substantial” pay raise next year, calling it key to force morale and readiness.
Getting the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program back on schedule and speeding up the delivery of Virginia-class attack boats are priorities for the new Navy Secretary.
A military parade to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary next month — coinciding with President Trump’s birthday — is estimated to cost between $25 million and $45 million.
More than 7,000 soldiers will reportedly be housed in government office buildings for the military parade next month to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary.
US POWER OVERSEAS
Head of U.S. AFRICOM met with the Côte d’Ivoire’s Defense Minister in Abidjan on 24 April to discuss the potential installation of a drone base in the country.
A Marine Corps element visiting the Philippines from northern Australia will command a larger force consisting of a littoral regiment from Hawaii and an Osprey squadron from California during the upcoming Kamandag exercise.
Army’s multi-domain task forces central to contesting Chinese, Russian strategies. A decade ago, a Navy admiral challenged a roomful of Army leaders to think beyond land.
Drones that can fly long distances in stormy Pacific weather are top wants for the 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force, now part of the Army’s rapid experimentation and fielding “Transformation in Contact” program.
CHINA THREAT
Top generals in the Pacific are aiming to create “positional advantage” using a combination of land forces and maritime assets to counter Chinese military aggression in the region.
U.S. will upgrade a Philippine military base crucial for Manila’s South China Sea operations, including resupply missions to contested maritime features such as Second Thomas Shoal.
Egypt’s relationship with China is preparing for takeoff. Hopes of a better U.S.-Egyptian relationship may have just been blown away by the afterburners of Chinese J-10 fighters.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Russia and Ukraine are due to hold their first direct peace talks in three years Friday, in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but observers expect them to yield little immediate progress.
How a Ukraine ceasefire could set the stage for escalation in the Black Sea. Since spring 2022, Russia has been prevented from reinforcing its navy in the Black Sea by a near-antique international convention and some very contemporary Turkish politics.
Ukraine released new video and details about the Magura-7 uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) its spy agency claims it used to down two Russian Su-30 Flanker multirole fighters.
That ‘tourist’ or hiker with military haircut in the forest might be a Russian spy, Latvia warns.
IRAN THREAT/MIDEAST
As Trump is threatening military action to curb Iran’s nuclear program, a new open-source analysis has found that air defense systems around one of Iran’s most crucial nuclear sites may be less networked and more “brittle” than expected.
Team Trump called its $142 billion defense deal with Saudi Arabia “the largest defense sales agreement in history.” Critics aren’t so sure.
Trump agrees on deal for UAE to build largest AI campus outside U.S., one of several deals around AI made during Trump’s visit to the Middle East.
Optimism abounds. The unexpected decision by Trump to lift sanctions on the country is a relief for Syrians. They hope that the move will reintegrate Syria into the global economy after more than 50 years of dynastic rule, and a nearly 14-year-long war.
Israel launched multiple airstrikes at Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis overnight into Thursday, in a second consecutive night of heavy bombing, with another airstrike in the north of the Palestinian territory.
SPACE THREAT
U.S. space chief warns China, Russia are greatest risks to U.S. space defense capabilities, especially Beijing’s “kill web.”
Space Force is collaborating with the Air Force and Northern Command to demonstrate space-based sensors for tracking airborne targets.
While Space Force prepares for upcoming experiments to test in-space refueling capabilities, the service is still analyzing whether the technology offers better advantages than deploying inexpensive, expendable satellites.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
As some members fail to meet today’s goal, NATO foreign ministers debated a U.S. demand to massively ramp up defense investment as the U.S. focuses on security challenges outside of Europe.
Vowing to end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Trump has also set his sights on Western Sahara, adding urgency to talks that show signs of progress but remain far from settled.
US MILITARY
Experts say it’s ‘not feasible.’ In keeping with his penchant for shocking the defense industry, Trump today seemingly revealed plans to develop a twin-engine version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter known as the F-55, as well as an upgraded “F-22 Super.”
Army cuts in half the dozen High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System, or HADES, spy planes it had previously planned to procure.
Army is pursuing concepts to deploy ultra-long-range effects to surveil deep in the battlespace from the sky.
101st Airborne Division will be the first to fly the new Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, designed to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter by 2030.
Marines ‘committed’ to Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) despite Army cancellation of the program, though it will result in a larger cost per unit for the Marine Corps and “negatively impact” its ability to fulfill its ground mobility strategy.
END of PDB
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Give them a choice of being in the Space Force. They can be discharged from their Guard units and enlisted into a Reserve element such as the Army Reserve or Active Duty. The individuals should have a say in that. You can only federalize for a certain amount of time, and that could be an expensive proposition.