Now that Donald Trump has won a second term, the Alabama congressional delegation is already lobbying to have the U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) headquarters moved from Colorado Springs in Colorado to Huntsville, Alabama.
That would be an unnecessary, expensive and disruptive move just as the headquarters is achieving operating efficiency, and the U.S. is competing with China and Russia to protect our military space capabilities.
Politics obscure the facts
Given the political background noise surrounding the USSPACECOM basing decision, it is essential to review some basic facts.
The government established the U.S. Space Command in August 2019, and it achieved full operational capability in late 2023 at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs. Leadership there have been striving to sort out organizational structures and map a way ahead to identify and achieve U.S. security objectives in space.
As far back as early 2021, the senior generals responsible for U.S. space operations expressed concerns about the negative impact on operational effectiveness if officials moved USSPACECOM to Huntsville.
“Pentagon leaders ultimately presented a criteria chart recommending Colorado Springs, not Huntsville, to the White House on Jan. 11, 2021,” an article in Air Force Times reported.
Following that meeting, the then-secretary of the Air Force, a civilian Trump appointee, disregarded the military advice and recommended the Huntsville location to the president, days before his term ended. That’s when officials politicized the basing decision. The Biden administration later reversed the decision because that was the right call.
Air Force stacked the deck
The cheerleaders in Alabama trumpet that two separate comparisons of potential locations rated Huntsville number one. But increasing employment opportunities, better quality of life factors and lower cost of living, criteria which the Air Force favored in their assessments, are not the main criteria that should determine military basing decisions.
Rather, the Congressional Research Service defines base realignment selection criteria and requires the secretary of defense to prioritize military value (primarily operational effectiveness) over cost savings.
Instead of using the Base Realignment and Closure Process (BRAC) for the USSPACECOM basing decision, the Air Force used criteria considered “best practices.” These focused heavily on cost factors and quality of life issues. Investigations by both the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Department of Defense inspector general found that, while the Air Force generally followed the law, “the basing process lacked integrity and neglected key national security considerations.” Neither of these reports endorsed the Air Force decision, as some alleged.
The GAO and the inspector general are reassessing their reports as required by the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act and will likely release new reports with roughly the same conclusions. Unless Trump appointees put a hand on the scale again.
Military effectiveness degraded by relocating
Authorities at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama have estimated it will take three to five years to build new facilities to house the 1,450 USSPACECOM personnel. The nucleus of U.S. military space operations is in Colorado, not Alabama, and USSPACECOM leaders are concerned that many of the civilian technical personnel and contractors would choose not to relocate because they could easily find new positions in Colorado.
So just as this mission critical command has reached full operational capability, the military would uproot it in a phased relocation to Huntsville, causing a sharp downturn in operational effectiveness from personnel moves and turnover.
Military value drove the Biden administration
All the reasons cited by the fan club rooting to move USSPACECOM to Huntsville focus on generating more employment, bringing more defense dollars into the community and the lower cost and quality of life in Huntsville. Not mentioned is that Congress has directed that basing decisions give primacy to the military value of proposed locations.
The nation’s modern space exploration program began in Huntsville, but not many military space operations are there now. For example, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center conducts civilian space research and exploration programs. The Missile Defense Agency manages missile defense of the U.S. homeland. The Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) retains its important missile defense programs, but it transferred most space activities to the U.S. Space Force that has several field commands based in Colorado.
SMDC retains the NASA Army astronaut detachment and the 1st Space Brigade that provides commanders awareness of and access to space-based capabilities which, by the way, is located in Colorado Springs.
So, as Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, suggests, the fix may be in and USSPACECOM headquarters shifted to Huntsville. But let’s be clear, that decision would be for political reasons — not what best supports our efforts to compete effectively with Russia and China in space, which is key to our national security.
Note: A version of this commentary appeared in the Huntsville Times.
