Politics at Play? Maryland Swipes DC Air National Guard F-16s

[WASHINGTON] As Christians were preparing for the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, President Joseph R. Biden’s administration continued to scheme, such as the latest machinations of Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall III, who transferred the 121st Fighter Squadron from the District of Columbia Air National Guard, weeks before the squadron came under the direct command of President Donald J. Trump to the Maryland National Guard, commanded by Democrat Gov. Wesley W.O. Moore. 

“In partnership with our congressional delegation and federal partners, we have advocated vigorously to maintain Maryland’s flying mission, both in the interest of national security and to continue the proud tradition that Maryland plays in defending our country,” said the governor in his Dec. 23 press release. 

Moore, an Army veteran who recanted his claim he earned a Bronze Star in his 2006-2007 deployment to Afghanistan, only to receive one at a private Dec. 21 White House ceremony, thanked Kendall directly.

“We thank the Secretary of the Air Force and all of the partners who helped get us here,” he said.

The centerpiece of the 121st Fighter Squadron is its dozen F-16 Fighting Falcon jets, which replace Maryland’s A-10C Thunderbolt II, also called the “Warthog,” slated for retirement in 2025. 

If the move stands, it significantly reduces Trump’s leverage over the Maryland congressional delegation just as the president is fighting Senate Republicans to confirm key national security appointments, such as Army Bronze Star veteran Pete Hegseth as his defense secretary and former congresswoman and Army Reserve Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard as his director of national intelligence. 

The support for Hegseth and Gabbard in the next congressional session from Maryland’s Democratic senators Christopher Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks would change the confirmation dynamics as Senate Republicans attempt to stake out their turf and prerogatives in relation to the returning president. 

A major factor pressing on the Maryland congressional delegation is that with the loss of the A-10Cs, Maryland’s Air National Guard would become the only state Air National Guard without aircraft.

Retired National Guard Brig. Gen. Michael B. Berger, who functions as an unofficial historian for the district’s National Guard, told RedState the transfer is an outrageous flex of political power. 

“Is it an outrage—it is a disgrace, and it’s politics,” the general said.

“I’m telling you, it’s nothing more than politics,” he said. “That Maryland says: ‘We’re losing our A-10, and we want something to replace it, and we hear the D.C. National Guard has the F-16s,” he said. “That’s basically what’s going on as a Swamp deal.”

Failed F-16 swipe attempt in initial continuing resolution 

The switch of the 121st  Fighter Squadron from the district’s Air National Guard was supposed to be part of the original lame-duck continuing resolution, a payoff for Maryland losing the Washington Commanders football team to the District of Columbia’s federally refurbished RFK Stadium.

Maryland’s delegation had three priorities going into the CR negotiations: extract a commitment from the Commanders that it will not abandon to rot their Landover stadium upon their move to Washington in exchange for their support of the federally-funded move, secure federal funding for the repairs to the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed March 26, when the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali plowed into its pylons — and the acquisition of the 121st Fighter Squadron and its F-16 fighter jets.

Although the F-16 plot came to the public’s attention in the lame-duck session of Congress, it has been in the works for months.

Washington Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton wrote to Kendall in an April 22 letter protesting the Air Force’s intent to strip 40 percent of the D.C. Air National Guard’s personnel away.

D.C. should not be reliant on the benevolence of the governor of Maryland, or any other state, to protect its airspace. If the 121st Fighter Squadron were redesignated to the Maryland National Guard, the DCNG would have no fighter jets. In the event such jets were needed to protect D.C.’s airspace, as they often are, the D.C. mayor or the DCNG could request assistance from a state or territory, but there is no guarantee the assets would be provided in a timely manner—or at all. While the president could use active-duty troops or federalize a state or territorial National Guard to protect D.C.’s airspace, the circumstances under which the president may federalize a National Guard are very limited.

Holmes Norton Letter Protesting Removal of DC Air Guard’s F-16s by Neil on Scribd

When President Donald J. Trump and Elon Musk scuttled the 1,500-page continuing resolution, leading to the 118-page replacement bill, the transfer of the 121st Fighter Squadron was dropped, too. 

In her Dec. 21 statement, Washington Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton celebrated that the transfer of the 121st Fighter Squadron, its F-16s, maintenance, and administrative personnel was dropped from the final continuing resolution.

That celebration was premature.

Transfer of F-16s a swipe at Trump’s direct control of military assets?

Kendall’s administrative action not only countermanded the will of Congress, which specifically did not authorize the transfer of the F-16s, but it also may be viewed as a knock at Trump’s return as the commander-in-chief of the D.C. National Guard.

In the case of the 50 states and territories with National Guard units, the commander-in-chief is the governor, but in the case of the DCNG, the commander-in-chief is the president. 

Although a president has the authority to federalize any National Guard assets, moving the 121st Fighter Squadron to the control of Maryland’s governor adds another layer and creates the need for more steps to take before the president can exercise control.

Berger: D.C.’s National Guard creation is rooted in the 1783 Philadelphia riots

Berger said DCNG’s fighter jet pilots scrambled the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, to protect the airspace surrounding the nation’s capital so quickly that there was no time to arm the planes, so the pilots were expected to ram into any hostile aircraft, sacrificing themselves if necessary.

He said that the DCNG has a different origin story than other National Guard units around the country because its roots are in the June 1783 riots in Philadelphia.

It is a story that echoes the concerns of Holmes Norton.

“The Continental soldiers were promised bonuses, which, of course, the Congress had not paid,” the general said. “Congress called for the city militia, which did nothing, and when they asked the Pennsylvania governor for help, instead of helping, he joined the protests—he was a Revolutionary War veteran himself.”

Berger said the riots were the real reason why the capital was moved to New York City.

Later, after the Constitution was ratified and Washington was the capital, Congress authorized the president to organize a militia of the District of Columbia, appoint its officers, and call it to service, just like the governors would their own state militia.

After he signed the bill, President Thomas Jefferson personally selected the unit’s first officers.

Trump can reverse Maryland’s F-16 maneuver

Of course, with the Trump administration coming in, the fate of the 121st Fighter Squadron could be reversed. 

The man rumored to be Trump’s pick for Air Force secretary, Andrew McKenna, is a man who appreciates legacy and history and was one of the civilian pilots chosen to fly a P-51 with the Air Force Demo Team. 

Maybe it just depends on how badly Maryland wants those jets.

If the Old Line State’s two Democratic senators, Van Hollen and Alsobrooks, decide to support Hegseth and Gabbard, the District of Columbia may have to do without.

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