President Joe Biden overturned the Trump’s administration decision of moving US Space Command HQ to Alabama and decided to keep it in Colorado.
According to a senior administration official, President Biden believes that moving the Space Command HQ to Huntsville, Alabama from Colorado Springs would effect the readiness and stability. After consulting with Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd and military leaders, Biden made the decision of keeping the HQ in Colorado permanently.
The head of the Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson is not in favor of moving the HQ and he convinced Biden to not relocate the base, according to the Associated Press. However, Gen. Dickinson’s view, was in contrast to Air Force command, who determined that relocating to Alabama, was the right move.
While officially announcing the plan, the press secretary of Pentagon, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, said that President Biden’s decision was based on “objective and deliberate process informed by data and analysis.” Brig. Pat said that Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd also supported the President’s decision.
According to the senior administration official, US Space Command HQ at Colorado Springs, is set to achieve full operational capability later this month. Relocating it to Alabama would force a transition process that does not allow the new base to open until the mid-2030’s.
The decision enraged the representatives from Alabama specially Rep. Mike Rogers (R), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee who is also investigating the delay behind the relocation plan, which was first put in motion when Space Command was resurrected in 2019. warned “This fight is far from over.”
White House national security spokesman John Kirby in an interview with CNN on Monday said, “This was really a decision based on one thing and one thing only for a president and that was operational readiness,” Kirby said. “He took the inputs of many leaders across the Department of Defense that when it came down to it, he believes that it’s in the best national security interest of the country if we leave Space Command in Colorado.”
Colorado Springs being home to the Air Force Academy, which now graduates Space Force guardians, and more than 24 military space missions, including three Space Force bases is also among the key reasons of not relocating the HQ to Alabama.
Huntsville, Alabama however turned out to be a better location then Colorado Springs in a Government Accountability office assessment of potential locations for Space Command HQ but the main reason officials argued is the lengthy transition that results in relocating to Alabama.
The decision was appreciated and celebrated as a victory in Colorado lawmakers and condemned in Alabama.
