On Tuesday, Governor Kay Ivey commended the House Armed Services Committee’s investigation into why President Joe Biden may overrule the Air Force decision to move Space Command to Red Stone Arsenal in Huntsville. Ivey reiterated her claim that it is a blatant fact that Huntsville is the rightful home for the Space Command Headquarters.
“Alabama is eager for our country to win the space race, not slow walk our way there,” said Ivey. “Let me repeat what everyone already knows: Alabama is the only rightful home for Space Command Headquarters, and supporting this mission is critical to the advancement of our national security.”
“Last week, our bipartisan Alabama delegation brought to light concerning details regarding the permanency of Space Command Headquarters,” Ivey continued. “On what dimension would we not have a permanent headquarters for a major arm of our national security? There are many questions that must be answered, and I commend Chairman Rogers, Representatives Strong and Sewell, as well as the entire U.S. House Armed Services Committee for launching this investigation.”
U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL03) is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Rogers sent a letter to Lloyd Austin, Secretary of the Department of Defense, and Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Department of the Air Force, requesting the department to preserve all documentation concerning the selection of a location for the U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) Headquarters.
In the letter, Chairman Rogers expressed concern regarding continued delays due to possible interference from the Biden Administration.
“The Air Force’s deleterious actions concerning the selection of a location for SPACECOM Headquarters require the Committee to now seek document preservation in this matter,” Rogers said. “Air Force officials have continued to delay finalizing the move of SPACECOM Headquarters to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, in response to apparent politically motivated interference by political appointees in the Biden Administration.”
Chairman Rogers continued, “The U.S. Space Force’s overall mission and success requires a swift decision on finalizing the move. The move is severely delayed at this point, over two years beyond the point when Air Force made the right decision after scrutinizing multiple locations and considering multiple factors to locate SPACECOM Headquarters in Huntsville, and over a year since the GAO and the DOD Inspector General affirmed Air Force’s decision. Moving expeditiously to locate SPACECOM Headquarters at Redstone Arsenal is in our country’s best national security interests.”
“Alabama – in every way – is staunchly committed to seeing this mission through,” said Gov. Kay Ivey. “And everyone agrees because the facts are undeniable that Redstone should, can, and will be home to Space Command Headquarters. Secretary Kendall and General Dickinson, I am ready to join you at Redstone Arsenal very soon to officially welcome the HQ to Alabama.”
“The Air Force closely scrutinized multiple locations based on multiple factors to decide where Space Command Headquarters should be, and Huntsville was the indisputable winner in both the Evaluation and Selection phases,” said Congressman Dale Strong (R-AL05). “The fact is that Redstone Arsenal offers the best possible location for Space Command Headquarters, and it is in our country’s best national security interest to make this move immediately.”
There is a report by NBC News that President Biden will overrule the Air Force decision and instead order Space Command headquarters to remain in Colorado. This is widely viewed as a political calculation as the President faces re-election next year, and Colorado voted for him. In contrast, Alabama has not backed a Democratic presidential candidate since 1976.
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