The military made the decision to relocate Space Command to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville in 2020. Yet, the move has not been completed due to opposition from the Colorado congressional delegation, which has challenged the process at every turn. Now there are reports that they may get their way. In response, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville recently wrote an opinion column in the Washington Post.
“Two independent studies from the Department of Defense Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office nonetheless affirmed the process that ranked Alabama as the best choice for the Space Command. Colorado didn’t make the top three,” Tuberville wrote.
Despite this, there are growing concerns that politics may trump the nonpartisan process which the Pentagon used to determine the best location for Space Command.
An anonymous White House source in David Ignatius’s March 24 op-ed, “A move to undo a political play on the Space Command,” suggested that President Joe Biden will upend the Air Force decision to put the Space Command headquarters at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala. The op-ed claimed that President Donald Trump chose Huntsville for political reasons. In fact, the Air Force secretary made the decision, which was confirmed by the acting defense secretary and finalized by the president.
“The military’s decision to place the Space Command at Redstone Arsenal is what is best for national security and for taxpayers,” Tuberville concluded. “If Mr. Biden overrules the Air Force, it will be Washington at its worst — a president putting politics above plain facts. The Space Command belongs in the Rocket City.”
On Monday, the Huntsville/Madison Chamber of Commerce was in Washington D.C., where they were addressed by Sen. Tuberville.
Chamber President Chip Cherry and Madison County Commission Chairman Mac McCutcheon joined Sen. Tuberville to voice their support for Space Command coming to Redstone Arsenal.
“Madison County has the resources available to accept Space Command coming to Huntsville, and we’re excited about that,” Commissioner McCutcheon wrote. “For a couple of years, this has been on the front burner with the Air Force. They have done studies on this program, and all the information has come back has shown that Space Command needs to be in Huntsville, Alabama.”
“I just hope that as President Biden moves forward with this, I hope that he will realize that the safety of our country is at stake,” McCutcheon continued. “Let’s take that information in the studies that were done and provide the Space Command with the best location that it should be in.”
“Security is the reason,” McCutcheon stated. “Let’s bring Space Command to Huntsville where it should be, and let’s take politics out of it.”
Alabama Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter said on Twitter, “Colorado’s federal delegation continues to hold up the Space Command process with no merit backing their position. Tommy Tuberville is right. It’s facts, not politics.”
Colorado’s congressional delegation has claimed that the studies performed by the Air Force were a flawed process.
Tuberville has represented Alabama in the U.S. Senate since his election in 2020.
