WASHINGTON — As the debate over moving the headquarters of Space Command churned, Gen. James Dickinson was apparently looking at some prime property in his home state of Colorado.
Dickinson, the commander of Space Command, bought a 20-acre ranch in April, according to records released by U.S. Sen. Katie Britt. The $1.5 million property includes a two-story house and barn.
“General Dickinson is a Colorado native,” Britt (R-Montgomery) said in a statement. “He graduated from Colorado State (bachelor’s) and the Colorado School of Mines (master’s). And now we’ve uncovered that he bought a 20-acre farm and 4,000 square-foot dream house in — you guessed it — Colorado. This $1.5 million property is just miles down the road from the interim Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs — and he purchased it just a couple of months before recommending that Colorado be awarded the permanent headquarters.
“People across our state and nation deserve answers as to why General Dickinson and this administration ignored the Air Force’s objective recommendations, which were reaffirmed by multiple independent reviews, in favor of his retirement destination. This new revelation raises more questions into the legitimacy of an already dubious decision by President Biden.”
More evidence that @JoeBiden’s decision was based on politics and personal reasons, NOT military readiness.
Follow the facts. @US_SpaceCom belongs in Huntsville.https://t.co/p4DfmsbLBP
— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) August 16, 2023
The Space Command issue was a topic among Alabama’s congressional delegation Saturday at the Business Council of Alabama meeting.
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, who believes Dickinson lied to him during a congressional hearing in June, called into question the basic practicality of a Colorado Springs base as indicated by its fifth-place ranking in the Government Accountability Office review.
“Whenever we requested text message, emails – started looking at expenditures – there’s $52 million for a multi-story building in Colorado,” Strong said Saturday. “They spent the time trying to increase their ability of what they could do there. But it’s nine miles outside of the military base with zero force protection.
“Can you imagine putting top secret, top of the top, in a building that’s nine miles outside of the military installation?”
Britt said, despite the decision by the general, the state’s delegation has not raised a white flag.
“It undoubtedly remains in the best interest of our national security to move Space Command HQ to Huntsville, and Alabama’s congressional delegation is going to continue fighting to right this wrong,” she said.
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