HUNTSVILLE — Alabama’s two U.S. senators and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle came out on defense today in the wake of a report that the decision to move U.S. Space Command to Huntsville was about to be reversed.
According to The Washington Post, citing an unnamed White House official, “The White House appears ready to reverse a Trump administration plan to relocate the U.S. Space Command from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Ala.”
The official said there concerns of “some military leaders about potential disruption of space operations at a critical moment for our national security.”
Reports that the Air Force’s selection process was political or contrary to the advice of Pentagon officials are not supported by fact, said a statement from U.S Sen. Tommy Tuberville. President Biden’s own administration has repeatedly confirmed the selection of Huntsville as “strategic” and an “analytically based process.”
“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,” said Tuberville (R-Auburn). “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.
“The best place for Space Command is in Huntsville. This is not my opinion, this is fact.”
To counter the concerns about disruptions of space operations, Sen. Katie Britt cited a General Accounting Office statement regarding the danger of having two commands (Space Command, U.S. Northern Command) at one site – Peterson Air Force Base.
“(T)he Air Force identified the ability to disperse combatant commands geographically as supporting its decision, and Air Force officials told us that they considered risk related to co-locating U.S. Space Command and U.S. Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base as a military judgement issue. The Air Force considered dispersing combatant commands in different geographic areas as a strategic advantage, and a way to avoid placing two combatant commands at risk from the same threat,” the report said.
“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,” said Britt (R-Montgomery), the ranking member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. “That decision should remain in the Air Force’s hands and should not be politicized.
“Selecting a fifth-place finisher would obviously prioritize partisan political considerations at the expense of our national security, military modernization, and force readiness.”
Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle cited a “twice-performed” study that showed Redstone Arsenal as the No. 1 site for the command.
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