President Biden plans to keep the headquarters of US Space Command in Colorado Springs and not move it to Alabama as the Air Force proposed under the Trump administration in 2021.<\/p>\n
It took two-and-a-half years for the decision to come down from the White House, following what the Pentagon said was a \u201cthorough and deliberate evaluation process.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLocating Headquarters US Space Command in Colorado Springs ultimately ensures peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period,\u201d said Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon\u2019s press secretary. \u201cIt will also enable the command to most effectively plan, execute and integrate military spacepower into multi-domain global operations in order to deter aggression and defend national interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
Space Command was originally set up in 1985 as an independent combatant command but was dissolved in 2002 and placed under the umbrella of US Strategic Command during a post-9\/11 reorganization of the military\u2019s command structure. President Trump reestablished Space Command in 2019, months before Congress passed legislation to make the Space Force the nation\u2019s newest military branch.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to note that Space Force and Space Command are separate entities, with the former responsible for supplying personnel and technology for military use, and the latter charged with carrying out military operations in space.<\/p>\n
In its previous incarnation, Space Command was headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. And that\u2019s where Space Command has been temporarily garrisoned since it came back online three years ago. The permanent headquarters of Space Command will come with numerous military and civilian jobs and a positive economic impact.<\/p>\n
In the final days of President Trump\u2019s tenure, the Air Force recommended basing Space Command at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, beating out finalists in Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Texas.<\/p>\n
,<\/p>\n
That decision drew the ire of Colorado\u2019s congressional delegation, and some lawmakers suggested the decision was political. Alabama, after all, is a reliable red state that twice voted for Trump. Colorado is not. Lawmakers also raised concerns that relocating Space Command from Colorado to Alabama could disrupt military operations.<\/p>\n
Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), who represents Colorado Springs, asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the Trump-era decision. The government watchdog\u2019s investigation concluded the Air Force did not follow \u201cbest practices\u201d in its decision-making process to put Space Command in Alabama, leading to \u201csignificant shortfalls in its transparency and credibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
A separate report in 2022 from the Pentagon\u2019s own inspector general concluded the basing decision process was \u201creasonable\u201d and complied with military policy and federal law, but criticized the decision-makers\u2019 record-keeping.<\/p>\n
The Biden administration\u2019s review left Space Command in a kind of limbo. Last week, the general nominated by Biden to be the next head of Space Command told lawmakers in a confirmation hearing that a \u201cdecision is needed\u201d on the question of Space Command\u2019s headquarters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI welcome this final basing decision,\u201d said Army Gen. James Dickinson, the current head of Space Command, in a statement. The Associated Press reported Dickinson privately argued to keep his headquarters in Colorado Springs over concerns that moving it to Alabama would jeopardize military readiness. Frank Kendall, the secretary of the Air Force, supported the move to Alabama, according to The Washington Post.<\/p>\n
Now with a permanent home, Biden administration officials say Space Command is on track to reach full operational capability next month.<\/p>\n
Alabama\u2019s representatives in Congress are not happy with Biden\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said the Air Force\u2019s top three choices in 2021 for Space Command\u2019s headquarters were all in red states, adding that the decision to bypass the three top-ranked finalists \u201clooks like blatant patronage politics.\u201d<\/p>\n
,<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is absolutely not over,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Tuberville has put a hold on nominations and promotions of senior military officers whose positions require Senate confirmation, protesting a Pentagon policy of granting leave and reimbursing travel expenses for military personnel who must travel out of state to obtain an abortion or fertility treatment. The hold has so far delayed the promotion of more than 200 military officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Biden has irresponsibly decided to yank a military decision out of the Air Force\u2019s hands in the name of partisan politics,\u201d said Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.).<\/p>\n
Alabama\u2019s senators don\u2019t have the influence on Capitol Hill that was wielded by former Sen. Richard Shelby, who retired from Congress earlier this year. Shelby alternated roles of chairman and ranking member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee for the better part of the last decade, directing funding for federal projects with a presence in Alabama.<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, Colorado\u2019s lawmakers welcomed Biden\u2019s decision. Lamborn, the Republican from Colorado Springs, said Biden\u2019s decision prioritized national security above political interests.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor two and a half years we\u2019ve known any objective analysis of this basing decision would reach the same conclusion we did, that Peterson Space Force Base is the best home for Space Command,\u201d said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). \u201cAfter two investigations and rigorous review by the Department of Defense, the administration has made the decision that\u2019s in our country\u2019s best interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
While members of Alabama\u2019s congressional delegation promise to fight Biden\u2019s selection of Colorado Springs for Space Command, there\u2019s broad consensus that a final decision was long overdue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has gone on too long,\u201d Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said last week. \u201cThese decisions impact our members, their families, local communities. It impacts the mission and the national security of the United States. So we shouldn\u2019t let indecision, bureaucracy, and politics impact our national security like this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Biden plans to keep the headquarters of US Space Command in Colorado Springs and not move it to Alabama as the Air Force proposed under the Trump administration in 2021. It took two-and-a-half years for the decision to come down from the White House, following what the Pentagon said was a \u201cthorough and deliberate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4865,9786,2479,9787,2254,9627],"class_list":["post-46030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-alabama","tag-biden-administration","tag-colorado","tag-military-space-program","tag-space-command","tag-trump-administration"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46030"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}