Can governors also be air commanders
Executive summary
State governors can and do act as military commanders for forces in their states — including the Air National Guard — but that authority is limited: governors are commanders-in-chief of state militia and National Guard units when those units are under state control, while active-duty Air Force forces remain under federal command and the president’s role as national commander-in-chief [1] [2] [3].
1. Governors as state commanders: constitutional and statutory grounding
State constitutions and federal law repeatedly place the governor at the head of a state’s militia and National Guard, making governors the de facto commanders-in-chief for state military forces unless those forces are federalized; Nebraska’s constitution is explicit about the governor’s role as commander-in-chief of the state’s military forces except when called into U.S. service [1], and summaries of the National Guard’s dual-status nature confirm governors’ primary authority in state status [4] [2].
2. “Air” authority: what it means in practice for aircraft and airmen
That gubernatorial command extends to Air National Guard units and their aircraft when those units are operating under state authority: governors “can directly access and utilize the Guard’s federally assigned aircraft, vehicles and other equipment” for state missions so long as federal reimbursement rules are followed, which effectively makes governors “air commanders” of state air assets in state status [2].
3. The federal limit: when governors do not control the air
The line changes when troops or units are federalized under Title 10 or otherwise called into federal service; at that point command of those air assets shifts to the president and the Department of Defense, and governors lose operational control — a constitutional and statutory reality reinforced by discussions of the president’s commander-in-chief authority over the armed forces [3] [5] [2].
4. Practical gray areas: Title 32, dual-status command, and political friction
Legal and operational complexity arises in hybrid postures: Title 32 status preserves state command while permitting federal funding, and “dual-status” arrangements can create a commander answerable to both state and federal authorities for certain missions, blurring lines of control [2] [4]. Those ambiguities have produced political fights: a recent coordinated letter from 53 governors warned the Defense Department that proposals to transfer Air National Guard space units to the federal Space Force without gubernatorial consent would undermine a century of precedent and state readiness — a signal that governors vigorously defend their air-command prerogatives [6].
5. Who really “commands” the air: operational vs. administrative roles
Even in federal service, there’s a distinction between administrative leadership and operational command: senior Air Force officers (e.g., the service chief) have service-wide responsibilities for organization, training and equipping, but combatant commanders exercise operational command of deployed air forces; governors do not gain authority over those federal structures by virtue of their office [7] [8]. Conversely, for state emergency response, governors control the Air National Guard’s use and can employ its aircraft for law enforcement or disaster missions where Posse Comitatus doesn’t apply under state active duty or Title 32 [2].
6. Political stakes and hidden agendas
The dispute over control of Guard air units is not only legal but political: governors’ appeals to preserve authority [6] reflect concerns about local emergency response, state-federal balance, and personnel impacts, while federal proposals to reorganize forces can be framed by the Air Force as efficiency or mission alignment; both sides invoke readiness and public safety to advance institutional interests [6] [2]. Reporting sources emphasize the dual-use nature of the Guard and the century-old statutory protections for gubernatorial consent — facts that inform why governors guard “air commander” authorities jealously [2] [6].
7. Bottom line
Yes: governors can be air commanders — but only over state-controlled air forces (primarily the Air National Guard and state air assets) and only while those forces remain in state status; they have no command authority over active-duty U.S. Air Force units or federalized Guard units, and shifting funding/status mechanisms (Title 10 vs. Title 32) or legislative proposals can change who controls which aircraft and missions [2] [4] [3].