Strong ‘bullish’ on Space Command moving to Rocket City

HUNTSVILLE — U.S. Rep. Dale Strong said he feels confident Space Command will finally move to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. 

In an interview with 256 Today, Strong (R-Monrovia) said he recently met with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office.  

“I’m bullish on Space Command. I believe that,” Strong said. “I had a meeting with the president last week in the Oval Office and the vice president was there, also. I believe that we’re fixin’ to soon watch as Space Command is announced for here in North Alabama.”

The U.S. Space Command is a unified combatant command of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for military operations in outer space.  

Strong, along with Alabama’s congressional delegation, has consistently maintained that Huntsville is the best choice for Space Command.

“The 21 categories that were evaluated on two different occasions, both times pointed to Redstone Arsenal as what is right for national security, not what’s right for an election, but what’s right for national security,” he said. “If you remember, Secretary Kendall also recommended Redstone Arsenal.”

In July 2023, President Joe Biden announced Space Command would remain in Colorado, overturning Trump’s decision to move it to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville.  

“President Biden decided to go to Colorado and they were fourth or fifth, depending which evaluation you look at,” Strong said. “So I believe the president’s going to stick with what he did first. And that was to recommend Redstone Arsenal and we’ll watch at that point somewhere between 1,400, 1,700 jobs with a 3,000-job spin off.” 

Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District representative said he believes even more jobs will be coming to the region.  

“I’m excited about the future of North Alabama in the Fifth Congressional District,” Strong said. “You start looking at the many jobs. The president has announced that an additional 500 jobs for the FBI will be coming here. 

“We’re pushing our case forward to be sure that the president and vice president know the capabilities of Redstone and Research Park.” 

Strong said the president must seat the Secretary of the Air Force before a final decision on Space Command is made. No confirmation hearing date has been set for the position but it could come this month, while a Space Command decision could come as early as April. 

“I think our days ahead are bright,” said Strong. “I think we’ll continue to grow and people understand our capabilities for national security and the US warfighter.”