Turf War Breaks Out Over Dc Fighter Jet Squadron-rfk Stadium Deal

An old-fashioned turf battle is erupting over the transfer of a fighter squadron from the District of Columbia to Maryland with critics worried this leaves the nation’s capital dangerously exposed to attack.

The D.C. National Guard’s commander and 17 of its retired leaders are decrying the planned transfer of an F-16 squadron to the Maryland Air National Guard. In a Tuesday letter to House and Senate armed services committee leaders obtained by POLITICO, the former leaders urged Congress to stop the reassignment of the 121st Fighter Squadron, which was part of a major deal between the District and Maryland for D.C. to take over the RFK stadium site. They argue the handover threatens national security.

“This is politics at its worst — sort of a backroom, smoke-filled room deal that went down at the last minute,” retired Maj. Gen. George Degnon, one of the signatories and the former National Guard adviser to Air Combat Command, said in an interview. “It didn’t go through any formal staffing. Had it gone through staffing, a lot of the problems…would have been brought to light and discussed.”

The transfer of the fighter squadron was a bargaining chip in talks to allow the district to redevelop the RFK Stadium site and could pave the way for the Washington Commanders football team to return to the city from Landover, Maryland. Maryland lawmakers demanded the move in exchange for allowing legislation to move forward that would give D.C. control of the stadium land.

The squadron’s sixteen F-16s, which play a major role in defending the capital region, have been scrambled nearly 7,700 times since 9/11. The Maryland Guard’s A-10 aircraft, by contrast, are designed for air-to-ground missions and not air defense, the retired leaders wrote.

“The A-10 is not equipped, nor are the pilots trained, or therefore qualified, for the air defense mission anywhere, let alone over the nation’s capital,” they wrote. “Any move to retrain A-10 pilots into F-16s, as this proposed transfer may do, will take many years and could leave vulnerable security gaps in the skies over the nation’s capital.”

The group also questioned the legality and the transparency of the transfer, asking why it was approved without the consent of Congress or the D.C. National Guard commander, as required by law. They pressed for details on the timeline, impacted personnel and whether concerns raised by D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, were addressed.

Under the proposed arrangement, 30 pilots and aircrew would transfer from D.C. to Maryland, while the F-16s would remain in D.C. Critics argue embedding Maryland personnel under a D.C. mission introduces a split control structure where Maryland Guard members report to their governor while performing federal missions alongside members of the D.C. Guard.

D.C. National Guard interim commander Maj. Gen. John Andonie rebuked the move, saying it bypassed the normal decision-making process and would “unnecessarily” bifurcate control.

“This relationship adds complexity and may result in an accumulation of risk,” he said in a letter to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall that POLITICO also obtained.

The two provisions were included in last month’s stopgap funding bill. But they were among the many special items abandoned by Speaker Mike Johnson after President-elect Donald Trump came out against the legislation.

Instead, senators cleared a House-passed standalone bill to allow the RFK land transfer. The Air Force signed off on the handover of the 121st Fighter Squadron to the Maryland Air National Guard shortly after.

The dual moves satisfy demands from each jurisdiction at the expense of some of their respective turf. It grants the District control of the land and allows it to potentially bring back an NFL franchise back while Maryland gets to beef up its Air National Guard.

Holmes Norton opposed the potential transfer in a letter to Kendall in April, arguing it would “gut” the D.C. Air National Guard. But Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has prioritized bringing the Commanders back to the RFK site, didn’t oppose the transfer and said the move is “not going to have an impact on D.C.”

The D.C. Guard directed questions to the Air Force, which only said the groups were working out additional details. A spokesperson for DOD didn’t respond to a request for comment.