Space Command leader Gen. James Dickinson told a congressional military readiness hearing last Tuesday, “I’ve got to have a decision…sooner rather than later” on whether his Space Command headquarters will be moving to Alabama from Colorado Springs.
In 2021, the Air Force made the decision to move the permanent headquarters of the new command and its 1,800-member headquarters staff from their current base in Colorado Springs, Colo., to a permanent base at Redstone Arsenal.
That decision came after a comparison of factors affecting the move such as cost of living, room to expand on the base, security and the ability to support the command staff’s needs.
When compared to military bases in multiple states, leaked documents show that Alabama ranked higher than Colorado in 11 of 21 comparisons including having an available and qualified workforce, nearness to supporting space organizations, room for the giant 464,000 Space Command headquarters building, and one-time infrastructure and construction costs.
Add to that an undisclosed reason shared by U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in his Washington Update in Huntsville in February.
“I asked the Secretary of the Air Force why they gave Space Command to us,” Tuberville said. “She said ‘Coach, this is not a political decision but I’m going to tell you why – at the end of the day we were told ‘Don’t go to Huntsville because their educational system is not any good in high school’.
Space Command will be moving thousands of people to Huntsville, and she stated they could not get people to move unless there is a good educational system.
“But then she told me, ‘We looked into it, and you’ve got better education in the Huntsville area than anywhere else in the United States,’” Tuberville shared.
So, what is the holdup?
The Pentagon designed a review procedure for settling interstate fights like the current one between Colorado and Alabama over Space Command headquarters, but the final decision seems to be long in coming. With Alabama winning the comparisons in every category, how much longer can the final decision take?
Gen. Dickinson wants answers.
“Where I see it right now is I’m looking forward to the results and conclusion of both the Department of Defense and the Inspector General’s evaluations…,” Dickinson said. “Those two assessments, I’m confident they’ll be done soon.”
He said he’ll be ready “whenever that might come.”
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