There is no denying that the United States of America is about as divided politically as it has been since the American Civil War, but a different battle is now brewing between two states over the location of the headquarters of the United States Space Command.
From the beginning, it was clear any selection for the HQ would leave some unhappy, but it is doubtful that anyone in the military expected to see a heated showdown.
Alabama’s AG Called for Investigation
The latest salvo was fired earlier this week as Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Director of Defense Capabilities and Management Elizabeth Field, and to the Department of Defense (DoD) Assistant Inspector General (IG) Randolph Stone questioning the “sudden reversal” of keeping the United States Space Command headquarters in Colorado.
“On January 13, 2021, after a thorough vetting process that spanned almost two years, the Secretary of the Air Force selected Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, as the preferred location for Space Command’s headquarters,” Marshall wrote, adding, “According to the announcement, the Air Force evaluated six possible headquarters locations ‘based on factors related to mission, infrastructure capacity, community support and costs to the Department of Defense.'”
The Alabama AG also noted that independent reviews conducted by two offices confirmed the Air Force’s decision that Huntsville was actually the best location for Space Command’s headquarters.
“After its investigation, the Government Accountability Office concluded that the selection of Huntsville ‘was consistent with the Air Force’s analysis,'” Marshall also noted. “The Huntsville headquarters should have cleared its final hurdle when the Air Force determined last year that the site ‘will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment.'”
Marshall then addressed the fact that on July 31, “government officials reported that President Biden had reversed the decision to locate Space Command’s headquarters in Huntsville and instead selected a location in Colorado. News reports credited General James Dickinson with convincing Biden to choose Colorado.”
Biden Was the Tie Breaker
It was also reported by Politico.com on August 1 that President Biden did in fact serve as a tie-breaker in the decision to move the Space Command HQ from Colorado Springs, and the president reversed a Trump administration decision to move the facility to Alabama.
That came after members of the Colorado and Alabama delegations had already spent months accusing each other of playing politics on the future of the four-star command, which was re-established in 2019 and given temporary headquarters in Colorado while the Air Force evaluated a list of possible permanent sites.
“Locating Headquarters U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs ultimately ensures peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period,” Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement when the decision was announced on July 31. “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.”
As Politico.com further reported, Gen. James Dickinson, the four-star chief of Space Command, recommended keeping the headquarters at its temporary location at Colorado’s Peterson Air Force Base. He argued it would avoid disrupting the schedule for the command to become fully operational, but Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall favored the move to the facility to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was forced to bring both arguments to President Joe Biden and asked the commander-in-chief to settle the debate. Biden favored keeping the HQ in Colorado.
Strong Allegations Being Made
AG Marshal has alleged that the decision to keep the Space Command headquarters in Colorado was made after Dickinson – who had been a leading advocate for the move to Huntsville – changed his recommendation from the Redstone Arsenal site to Colorado. Marshal says he believes Dickinson’s about-face came after the general purchased a $1.5 million, 20-acre ranch near the Colorado location earlier this year – and which Marshal said was never disclosed to stakeholders in the process.
“Since taking office, this president has targeted red states…But when it comes to national security, politics must take a backseat,” said Attorney General Marshall said in a statement. “I implore the Inspector General to investigate the oddly timed investment by General Dickinson which coincided with his recommendation against the Air Force’s preferred site in Huntsville. And I will continue to use the unique power of my office to hold President Biden accountable and demand transparency into this politically motivated charade.”
More Calls for Investigations
In addition to the push for an investigation by AG Marshal, on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala) also called for top Pentagon decision-makers to testify before the House Armed Services Committee on what he called a “politically motivated” decision to keep the U.S. Space Command headquarters in the Rocky Mountain State.
Rogers, who represents east-central Alabama’s third congressional district and serves as the chairman of the committee that has jurisdiction over Pentagon and American defense policy, has sought to hear testimony from Kendall, Dickinson, and Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman in a public hearing.
It seems that Alabama is ready to fight for the Space Command headquarters, but Colorado lawmakers are just entrenched in keeping it in the Rocky Mountains.
