Alabama officials and lawmakers fought back today after a Washington Post report that the Biden Administration may soon reverse an earlier decision to move the headquarters for U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama.
“The White House appears ready to reverse a Trump administration plan to relocate the U.S. Space Command from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Ala.,” writes Washington Post national columnist David Ignatius. Trump claimed credit for the Space Command move to Huntsville saying in Alabama that he personally made the decision after Alabama supported his unsuccessful re-election bid.
“(The White House) fears the transfer would disrupt operations at a time when space is increasingly important to the military,” Ignatius said in a column posted on the Post’s website late Thursday. The columnist quoted an unnamed White House official saying this week, “We share the concerns of some military leaders about potential disruption of space operations at a critical moment for our national security.”
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said today she hadn’t seen the Ignatius “opinion article.” But Ivey said, “Alabama has been through multiple reviews. And we have clearly earned the right to be at the top of that list. We will stay strong. And we’re going to keep this Space Command headquarters here in Alabama.”
Republican Alabama U.S. Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt also issued statements against the Colorado possibility today noting that state was a “fifth-place finisher” in the Pentagon rankings of competing locations. But a member of Tuberville’s staff confirmed to AL.com that President Biden could change the decision just as former President Trump says he did. “He is the commander in chief,” the staff member said.
“The U.S. Air Force’s thorough selection process and decision to put SPACECOM headquarters in Alabama was based on evidence of what’s best for the military and the country,” Tuberville said in a statement. “The Air Force selected Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, over 65 other locations, including Colorado. Members of Congress from Colorado requested two additional studies when they didn’t get their way. Both of those studies confirmed that Huntsville was the number one location for SPACECOM — based on things like workforce, existing infrastructure, education, and cost of living. Colorado did not make the top three. The best place for Space Command is in Huntsville. This is not my opinion, this is fact.”
Britt said in a statement that “Huntsville finished first in both the Air Force’s Evaluation Phase and Selection Phase, leaving no doubt that the Air Force’s decision to choose Redstone as the preferred basing location was correct purely on the merits.”
“That decision should remain in the Air Force’s hands and should not be politicized,” Britt stated. “Selecting a fifth-place finisher would obviously prioritize partisan political considerations at the expense of our national security, military modernization, and force readiness. Alabama’s world-class aerospace and defense workforce, capabilities, and synergies stand ready to fulfill the mission and strengthen our national security long into the future.”
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville) joined the call to leave the decision to the established process and not politicize it. “Redstone Arsenal has consistently ranked as the No. 1 location to host the headquarters of U.S. Space Command,” Strong said Friday. “The indisputable facts of this situation are: The Air Force led a robust basing process which complied with federal law, and the (Department of Defense Inspector General) and (General Account Office) confirmed the original decision. Redstone Arsenal was consistently the top choice to host Space Command headquarters and Colorado wasn’t in the top three.”
“The decision should be what is in the best for national security of the United State of America,” Strong said. “I am hopeful that the Secretary of the Air Force will announce a final basing decision soon.”
The arsenal in Huntsville came out on top in the official Pentagon evaluation of sites seeking to host the headquarters. It also survived an in-depth review by the inspector general of the Defense Department. Colorado Springs, where the command was established or “stood up” and where its headquarters is now, did not make the final cut of candidates after reviews of such consideration as job opportunities for spouses, quality of schools, housing costs and local infrastructure to support the base. The process that led to the decision was created after years of political leaders of both parties trying to influence basing decisions that can mean millions to local economies.
Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle also cited that process Friday. “The results of an exhaustive, objective, data-driven study, twice performed, show that Huntsville, Alabama, is the best location for Space Command headquarters,” Battle said. “That recommendation was examined in two thorough reports – from the Government Accountability Office and Department of Defense Inspector General – finding the DoD’s study was conducted properly, each time resulting in Huntsville being named as the best spot for USSPACECOM. We look forward to Space Command being headquartered where it belongs, the Rocket City.”
Tuberville also said, “President Biden’s own administration has repeatedly confirmed the selection of Huntsville as ‘strategic’ and an ‘analytically based process.’”
On June 16, 2021, the president’s acting secretary of the Air Force told a congressional committee, “I have personally no evidence that the decision was politically motivated.” Acting Secretary John Roth said the “selection of Huntsville as the preferred location by my predecessor was the result of our strategic basing process and that process is an analytically based process.”
Moving the command headquarters to Redstone Arsenal would bring 1,800 headquarters staff and their families to north Alabama. Redstone Arsenal has 45,000 employees and 800 active duty soldiers, according to the Department of Defense.
(AL.com reporter Paul Gattis contributed to this report.)