Global Courant
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said in a tweet Wednesday that the top general in charge of the US Space Command told him during a meeting that Huntsville, not Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the preferred location for the new headquarters.
Tuberville’s tweet, which his office also released in a press release, is the latest twist in the ongoing brawl over where US Space Command should be. The decision that has become entangled in a much larger political battle between Tuberville and the Department of Defense over reproductive health care for military personnel that now jeopardizes the promotions of hundreds of military officers.
The senator tweeted that Gen. James Dickinson “confirmed that Huntsville is the preferred location of Space Command Headquarters. Enough is enough, it’s time to bring US Space Command to Huntsville.”
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US Space Command had no comment on Tuberville’s statement.
Tuberville is fighting for a basic decision that could bring hundreds of lucrative jobs to his constituency. The Air Force and Space Force initially recommended that the headquarters be located in Colorado Springs, but in the last days of his term, President Donald Trump decided that the new headquarters should be located in Huntsville.
Huntsville ranked higher than Colorado Springs in a Government Accountability Office assessment of potential sites and has long been home to some of the earliest rockets used in the nation’s space programs, including the Saturn V rocket. It is home to the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command.
Senator Tommy Tuberville is seen at the Capitol in Washington, May 16, 2023. Tuberville said the top general in charge of the US Space Command said the command prefers Huntsville to Colorado Springs as the location for its new headquarters. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Colorado Springs is home to the Air Force Academy, now graduating as Space Force Guardians, and more than 24 military space missions, including three Space Force bases and the temporary home of US Space Command. Proponents of retaining command in Colorado argue that moving to Huntsville and creating a new headquarters would slow progress at a time when it must move quickly to be positioned to match China’s military space rise.
The base decision, while not directly connected, has become part of a larger political battle. The Biden administration has not moved forward with allocating headquarters to Huntsville as the decision went through a series of congressional and inspectors general reviews. Meanwhile, Tuberville has used a Senate prerogative to essentially halt military officer nominations or promotions until the Department of Defense rescinds a policy that would allow and support military personnel to seek reproductive care outside of their current area of responsibility.
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The Biden administration has not said whether it will reverse its earlier decision to award headquarters to Alabama, which has one of the country’s strictest abortion laws.
However, the holds have significant spillover effects on military families who would now be getting ready to move to their next base and get their kids into a new school.
