Building 1 at Peterson Space Force Base, Colo. is the provisional headquarters of U.S. Space Command. USSPACECOM conducts operations in, from, and to space to deter conflict, and if necessary, defeat aggression, deliver space combat power for the joint and combined force, and defend U.S. vital interests. (Space Command/Christopher DeWitt)
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden today ended two years of suspense by deciding that US Space Command’s headquarters will remain in Colorado Springs, Colo. — overturning the January 2021 decision by President Donald Trump to move it to Huntsville, Ala.
Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs has been the preferred choice of the top military space brass ever since the basing process began way back in 2018. Trump’s decision was made over their concerns that moving SPACECOM from its current home (previously the home of Air Force Space Command) would needless delay its full operational capability.
Biden, in the end, shared those concerns.
“The most significant factor the President considered was the impact a move would have to operational readiness to confront space-enabled threats during a critical time in this dynamic security environment. U.S Space Command headquarters will achieve ‘full operational capability’ at Colorado Springs later this month. Maintaining the headquarters there maintains operational readiness and ensures no disruption to its mission or to its personnel,” a senior administration official told Breaking Defense in an email.
“A move to Alabama, by contrast, would have forced upon that command a transition process between the mid-2020’s and the opening of the new site in the early to mid-2030’s. The President found that risk unacceptable, especially given the challenges we may face in the space domain during this critical time period. Locating Headquarters U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs ensures peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period.”
The Defense Department, likewise, cited the issue of readiness as a key factor.
“From the start, DoD and the Department of the Air Force have worked diligently to ensure the basing decision resulted from an objective and deliberate process informed by data and analysis, in compliance with federal law and DoD policy. Secretary Austin, Secretary of the Air Force Kendall, and U.S. Space Command commander Gen. [James] Dickinson all support the President’s decision,” Pentagon spokesman said in a statement.
“Locating Headquarters U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs ultimately ensures peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period. It will also enable the command to most effectively plan, execute and integrate military spacepower into multi-domain global operations in order to deter aggression and defend national interests.”
Trump’s decision was followed by two years of controversy, with the Colorado congressional delegation demanding inspections by both the Pentagon’s Office of the Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office into the decision. Neither of those reviews found the Alabama choice to be “unreasonable” although both questioned the fullness and transparency of the basing review.
As to be expected, Colorado’s congressional delegation welcomed Biden’s decision, with the state’s two Democratic Senators celebrating the move.
“Over the past two and half years, we have repeatedly made the case that the Trump Administration’s decision to relocate U.S. Space Command was misguided. Today’s decision restores integrity to the Pentagon’s basing process and sends a strong message that national security and the readiness of our Armed Forces drive our military decisions,” said Sen. Michael Bennet in a press release.
Sen. John Hickenlooper, in the same release, said: “For two and a half years we’ve known any objective analysis of this basing decision would reach the same conclusion we did, that Peterson Space Force Base is the best home for Space Command. … Most importantly, this decision firmly rejects the idea that politics – instead of national security – should determine basing decisions central to our national security.”
Likewise, Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn, who chairs the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, commended Biden’s decision.
“This decision aligns with the best military advice of countless senior military leaders who all agree that Peterson Space Force Base is the most viable option for USSPACECOM to reach full operational capability the fastest and is the best permanent home for its long-term operations,” Lamborn said.
Key Alabama representatives on Capitol Hill, just as predictably, are not amused.
Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, in a statement today promised to continue his congressional investigation into the long delay to look at whether the Biden administration “intentionally misled the Armed Services Committee on their deliberate taxpayer-funded manipulation of the selection process.”
“It’s clear that far-left politics, not national security, was the driving force behind this decision,” he charged.
Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who has for months been blocking Biden’s nominations to senior military posts, also condemned the decision in no uncertain terms.
“This is absolutely not over. I will continue to fight this as long as it takes to bring Space Command where it would be best served—Huntsville, Alabama,” he said in a press statement.
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