Battle Over Space Command Headquarters pits Alabama with Colorado Assembly members

A political tug-of-war continues for the base a few years after the first Trump administration moved to designate Alabama as home to its permanent Space Command headquarters (HQ).

Colorado Republicans are urging the president to reconsider the decision, but Alabama Assemblyman It argues that it should move forward and should move forward.

After checking on May 13th, new check Air Force Executive Director Troy Meink can expect many calls from Capitol Hill to draw him in different directions at headquarters.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said he had already discussed the matter with him.

“I look forward to his recommendation that he agree with the last two Air Force secretaries and recommend it to Huntsville,” he said. “And I totally hope that will happen based on our conversation.”

Space Force House for the time being – Colorado Springs, Colorado – According to R-Colo’s Rep. Jeff Crank, the district covers its current headquarters, which makes sense from the money already invested in setting up stores there.

“Saving that would mean savings would mean $2 billion,” Crank told Fox News Digital, pointing out that there’s no need to build a new HQ building.

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president Donald Trump In his first term, he announced plans to move headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama, but former president Joe Biden When he took office, he reverted those plans.

Space Command has been operating on Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs since its launch in 2019. This command will be responsible for military operations in space and play a major role in the Golden Dome Project.

Crank argues that Colorado makes more sense geographically. It is also home to the Northern Command, and the two will need to coordinate Trump’s new Golden Dome missile defense project.

“They have to be seamless in their communication efforts,” Crank said. “I don’t want to delay running the Golden Dome.”

He claimed that the Space Command Headquarters, surrounded by Cheyenne Mountain, was already “one of the safest facilities” in the country. He added that he is in the middle of the US, making it difficult for enemies to attack.

“It’s really important to make it as an asset from a survivability perspective.”

Rogers dispelled complaints from his Colorado counterparts and claimed that Alabama had just won the square.

“They’re just doing their job. You know, they don’t want to see it go,” Rogers said. But “They lost two national competitions. I’m not the one who says it should be in Huntsville.”

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He claimed now that the command spreads to four or five different buildings, some of which are outside the base area.

“None of them have been built for confidential operations,” he said. “They just make it work.”

Rogers pointed to a recent Department of Defense Inspector (IG) report that considered Biden’s 2023 decision not to move its headquarters. The report found that then-Chief of the Air Force Frank Kendall recommends visiting Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama.

But then space commander General James Dickinson wanted to maintain a permanent headquarters in Colorado due to Air Force investigations that Alabama options would not work for three or four years. Dickinson and space officers were also worried that more than half of Colorado’s highly trained civilian staff would quit rather than move to Alabama for work.

“USSPACECOM’s leadership expects civilian losses to occur much earlier than planned (Air Force) and that USSPACECOM will not be able to secure the necessary talent investments to mitigate the impact of that loss on the preparation of the command,” the report states.

However, Rogers argued that Colorado also has talent issues.

“The reason why Secretary Kendall disagreed with them is that it encouraged it to be moved is because more than 300 jobs in Colorado Springs have not been fulfilled,” he said. “They had to sign them.”

Crank argued that the cost survey results from the IG Report assume Colorado needs to build a new HQ building, and he says it is not.

“There is no need to build a new headquarters building,” he said. If you say you need to build a new headquarters building, I think you’d prefer Alabama, which costs around $400 million from a cost perspective. ”

“But if you don’t do it and we don’t need it, if you already have a headquarters building there, that saves taxpayers $2 billion,” he said.

The IG Report said it “could not determine” why Kendall did not make a formal announcement decision to move to space after the completion of an environmental impact assessment for the Alabama Planning HQ site.

Without a formal announcement, Spacecom could have declared full operational capabilities in Colorado, the report says.

Rogers predicted that the IG report proved that the Biden administration’s move was political and that in April would Trump formally call Alabama the Space Force home on the moon.

However, Crank, along with GOP officials, wrote to Trump, along with Lauren Beaubert, Gabe Evans and Jeff Heard, warning that the movement would affect preparation.

“Moving commands will disrupt these established capabilities and partnerships, further reducing your preparedness to face evolving threats,” they wrote in a letter dated April 8th.

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However, Rogers appears to be sure this move will move forward.

“There’s absolutely no national security impact on moving it,” he said.

“It needs to be at permanent headquarters, it needs to be in the fence. It’s everything that happens in Huntsville.”