Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond established Space Operations Command (SpOC), the U.S. Space Force's first of three Field Commands, during a ceremony at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., Oct. 21, 2020. (JT Armstrong/U.S. Space Force)
(Tribune News Service) — Colorado Springs celebrated keeping U.S. Space Command last year, but another fight over its location could be brewing as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.
A senior GOP lawmaker from Alabama who wants the command headquartered in his home state said this week that he expects Trump will reverse a decision by President Joe Biden and relocate the command to Huntsville, Ala., soon after the Republican is sworn into office in January.
Members of Colorado’s congressional delegation, however, said they’ll mount a united, bipartisan front to oppose such a move, arguing that uprooting the fully operational command would threaten national security.
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told a local talk radio show on Monday that he anticipates Trump will make good on a campaign promise by issuing an executive order reversing Biden’s directive “in the first week that he’s in office.”
Rogers, who had been a rumored candidate to head the Department of Defense before Trump announced Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth as his Pentagon nominee, has been fighting for the headquarters for years from his powerful perch atop the congressional committee. Last year, after Biden ordered that Space Command remain in Colorado, Rogers oversaw a national defense spending bill that withheld funding to construct a permanent headquarters for the command in Colorado Springs.
U.S. Rep.-elect Jeff Crank, the Colorado Springs Republican elected last week, told Al.com on Monday that he plans to “resist any attempt” to move the headquarters to Alabama, adding that Trump’s desire to build out Space Force and Space Command — two separate military operations — in the face of global threats requires keeping the latter where it is.
Crank’s future colleagues from both sides of the aisle echoed the sentiment.
6 key things to know about the fight for Space Command: Colorado Springs vs. Huntsville
As Donald Trump’s reelection to the presidency raises new questions about the permanent home of U.S. Space Command, here are six key things to know as it’s determined whether it stays in Colorado Springs at Peterson Space Force Base or moves to Huntsville, Ala.
“Colorado is the rightful home for Space Command,” a spokesman for Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet said. “Our state’s space and military assets are critical to America’s national security, and Colorado is the best place for our service members and their families to train, live, work and retire.”
“The Colorado delegation will work together to ensure Space Command remains here,” said U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, an Aurora Democrat who represents Buckley Space Force Base, another of the state’s largest military installations.
“Our national security relies on the workforce and space infrastructure of Colorado, and moving it poses unacceptable risks,” Crow added.
U.S. Rep.-elect Gabe Evans, a Fort Lupton Republican and Army veteran, said his experience in the Colorado Air National Guard underlines his commitment to keeping the command in the state.
Trump expected to move Space Command out of Colorado Springs: Alabama representative
President-elect Donald Trump isn’t expected to waste any time going through with the plan to move Space Command headquarters out of Colorado Springs to Alabama.
“As a former military pilot who worked daily in Colorado with our Space counterparts, I know how critically important it is for operational readiness that Space Command remains in Colorado,” Evans said in a statement. “I will work with all members of the Colorado delegation to vigorously oppose any such move.”
Democratic U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, a key player in the fight to keep Space Command in Colorado, chided Rogers for trying to steer the headquarters to Alabama for political reasons.
“It’s already been investigated, proven, and decided: Colorado Springs is the best place for Space Command because it’s already at work here,” Hickenlooper said in a statement, adding that service members and civilians have been working “around the clock” at Peterson to keep the country safe.
“Alabama couldn’t win this fight on the merits, so he’s trying to get Trump to overrule our national security and cost taxpayers an enormous amount for the sake of a hometown win,” Hickenlooper said, referring to Rogers. “We need leaders who fight for our national defense first, not just Huntsville’s economy.”
A spokesman for U.S. Rep.-elect Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction Republican, cautioned against rushing to conclusions based solely on a politician’s remarks on a talk show but emphasized that Hurd is on board with the state’s delegation.
“Jeff has pledged to always be thoughtful and deliberative when it comes to policy initiatives,” the Hurd spokesman said in a text message. “Until the president makes his position known, we are all speculating. That said, Congressman-elect Crank is right, USSPACECOM belongs Colorado Springs.”
El Paso County and Colorado Springs officials also would jump back into advocating to keep the command and its robust economic impact.
“We will continue to make the case that Peterson Space Force Base is the best place for U.S. Space Command due to cost and our region’s infrastructure, skilled workforce and strong community support essential to the mission,” the El Paso County commissioners said in a statement.
Dani Bolling, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Corp., noted in a written statement Tuesday that Colorado Springs is a “strategic hub for protecting the United States and allied interests in space,” and home to more than 150 private aerospace and defense companies.
An estimated 100,000 national security professionals are employed in Colorado Springs, Rep. Doug Lamborn’s office said previously.
Moving the command of about 1,700 people could also degrade the readiness of the command at a time with China is investing heavily in space, former Space Command leader Gen. James Dickinson warned last year in congressional testimony.
“In my experience, such a move would pose unnecessary risk and uncertainty on retention and recruitment of our trained workforce. Based on the nature of the threat and the rapid progress in U.S. Space Command’s operational capability, a move presented a high risk to our mission and force at a pivotal time,” Dickinson wrote.
Colorado Springs, El Paso County leaders react to possible Space Command move under Trump
Government and business leaders from Colorado Springs and El Paso County said Tuesday they are committed to working with President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team to discuss Colorado Springs’ role in national security.
The command reached full operational capability in December and recently celebrated its fifth birthday in July.
Two retired generals estimated a few years ago that it could cost $1.2 billion to move the headquarters and take years of work, The Gazette reported.
The command provides combatant commanders with support such as weather monitoring; space control; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; position, navigation and timing; satellite communications; and missile warning, The Gazette previously reported.
It is similar to the executive suite of a company, setting overall strategy and big-picture defensive plans, explained Auria President Tom Dickson. Colorado Springs-based defense company Auria was born out of the merger of Boecore, Ascension Engineering Group, Orbit Logic and La Jolla Logic. Running the headquarters takes quite a few people, because it is so complex. But if the command moved, the units actually operating satellites, providing services like communications, would remain.
A move could take years, just as the Missile Defense Agency’s move from Washington, D.C., to Huntsville did, Dickson said, and some employees probably wouldn’t transfer.
“It took them years and years to finally get completely moved,” he said.
Auria wouldn’t be affected by a move because it works largely on the operational side of space, but common sense would dictate the Space Command stay in town, Dickson said.
“It’s such a disruption to their mission,” he said.
Mark Stafford, president and CEO of the company of Delta Solutions & Strategies, a prime contractor for Space Command, told The Gazette Tuesday, he wasn’t feeling any uncertainty based on Trump’s election.
“We press ahead and do the mission,” he said, and that won’t change with a move.
The company is completing a $187 million contract for Space Command to provide military operations, intelligence, logistics, communications and exercises. As a prime contractor, the company employs numerous other companies to complete its work.
The company supports Space Command across its four locations in Colorado and one in California. One of those is a 100,000-square-foot secure building. Previously, Redstone Arsenal had set aside 60 acres of raw land for Space Command.
If the command moved, Delta Solutions & Strategies would expand its office in Huntsville, but would maintain its footprint in Colorado Springs. The company employs 250 people along the Front Range.
He also expects the local space and aerospace industry would keep growing, although at a slower pace than the past five years.
“It’s a thriving industry in Colorado Springs,” he said.
Dickson said he expected continued business growth could continue as the Space Force develops in town.
“There is a lot of need and there are a lot of threats that keep emerging,” he said.
Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade and the Chamber of Commerce’s Bolling said they will work with Trump and the transition team to discuss the city’s role in national security, adding they will continue to support Space Command’s mission.
“We ... are eager to share the great things underway in Colorado Springs, especially our city’s strong history and contributions to national security,” Mobolade said, in part, in a written statement Tuesday, adding that the city’s “robust ecosystem is a key factor in the early success of (Space Command), and we are committed to working together to support its mission to defend our great nation.”
(c)2024 The Gazette.
Visit The Gazette at www.gazette.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
