Source: United States Senator for Colorado Michael Bennet
Washington, D.C. — Today, Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and Colorado U.S. Representatives Diana DeGette (D), Joe Neguse (D), Jason Crow (D), Ed Perlmutter (D), Doug Lamborn (R), and Lauren Boebert (R) sent a letter to the Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall urging him to suspend the Trump Administration’s decision to move U.S. Space Command from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Huntsville, Alabama until the administration conducts a thorough review.
“We write to request that you conduct an urgent and thorough review of the Trump Administration’s decision to move U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Huntsville, Alabama,” wrote Bennet and the lawmakers. “This move undermines our ability to respond to the threats in space and is disruptive to the current mission. Additionally, significant evidence exists that the former president’s political considerations influenced the final decision to relocate USSPACECOM to Redstone Arsenal. As such, we urge you to formally suspend any actions to relocate the USSPACECOM headquarters until the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have completed their respective investigations into the basing decision and you complete your review.”
On January 13, the Air Force announced that Huntsville, Alabama, would be the permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command. Following this announcement, reports surfaced that President Donald Trump politicized the process, choosing to relocate U.S. Space Command from its provisional headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In August, the former president made comments on a radio show suggesting his direct involvement in the relocation decision.
The lawmakers concluded: “Serious questions remain about the cost of this decision and its effect on our ability to respond to critical and escalating threats in space. Our nation cannot afford disruptions to the current mission at this time, especially as China and Russia work to match or exceed U.S. capabilities in space. In view of the irregularities of the selection process and the effects on national security, we request you pause all actions related to moving USSPACECOM until thorough reviews by the DoD IG and GAO are complete.”
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Secretary Kendall:
Congratulations on your confirmation to serve as the 26th Secretary of the United States Air Force. On behalf of the people of Colorado, we thank you for your service and dedication to our country.
We write to request that you conduct an urgent and thorough review of the Trump Administration’s decision to move U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Huntsville, Alabama. This move undermines our ability to respond to the threats in space and is disruptive to the current mission. Additionally, significant evidence exists that the former president’s political considerations influenced the final decision to relocate USSPACECOM to Redstone Arsenal. As such, we urge you to formally suspend any actions to relocate the USSPACECOM headquarters until the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have completed their respective investigations into the basing decision and you complete your review.
Our primary concerns with the methodology and potential implications of the decision are as follows:
Threat to National Security and Mission Readiness: National security is the most important consideration for any basing decision. As the epicenter of operational integration between military and intelligence space assets, Colorado is well positioned to fulfill readiness demands. Our state has the nation’s largest aerospace economy on a per capita basis and several universities with top-tier aerospace and engineering programs. Colorado Springs is home to the National Space Defense Center (NSDC), U.S. Northern Command, North American Aerospace Defense Command, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and communications infrastructure that is specifically designed to support the space mission. Ninety miles north, Buckley Space Force Garrison hosts the National Reconnaissance Office’s Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado. These two communities alone host eight of the nine current Space Force Deltas. The robust co-location of space equities in Colorado is not accidental. In fact, the NSDC’s recent budget justification to Congress underscores the premium that the Air Force places upon the national security benefits of this proximity. We were thrilled to hear that USSPACECOM has reached IOC in its current location. By equal measure, we are concerned that moving USSPACECOM away from this unparalleled network of existing capabilities would diminish our nation’s ability to respond to a rapidly evolving threat landscape in space.
Opaque and Inconsistent Process: The Air Force began the selection process in 2019 and announced six finalists in May: Peterson Air Force Base (AFB), Schriever AFB, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, and Buckley AFB in Colorado (all recently renamed as Space Force installations); Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, and Vandenberg AFB in California. In August 2019, the Air Force named Peterson AFB the provisional headquarters until 2026, with the final decision expected in October 2019. By the end of the year, however, the selection process inexplicably slowed. In March 2020, the Air Force announced it would redo the process with new methodology and criteria, which represented a significant departure from the standard Air Force strategic basing process. The Air Force cited the creation of the Space Force as the ostensible reason for disregarding months of work and starting anew. Certain press reports have suggested, however, that this change occurred due to requests from various Members of Congress who argued their state should have been considered. The new process lacked transparency regarding proposed community incentives, as well as the mechanism by which the point system correlated with the eventual +/- baseline evaluation scale. These ambiguities continue to prevent clear, public evaluation of the scoring criteria. On January 13, 2021, with one week left in President Trump’s term, the Air Force announced the decision to relocate U.S. Space Command to Huntsville. Before the Air Force even announced its decision, Alabama press and politicians indicated prior knowledge of the Administration’s intended move.
Fiscal and Personnel Costs: Despite requests from Congress, no official estimates have been provided regarding the cost of relocating USSPACECOM from Colorado Springs to Huntsville. Additionally, we are concerned that renovating the current location for long-term use was not properly evaluated. Reports suggest that keeping USSPACECOM in Colorado Springs may save taxpayers $1.2 billion and achieve full mission capability seven years earlier. Following the announcement that USSPACECOM has reached IOC in its current facilities, a costly proposed move that could jeopardize existing mission readiness becomes even more concerning. In addition, past experience shows that moving USSPACECOM, which has a higher percentage of civilians than military personnel, is likely to create unnecessary personnel attrition. For example, roughly 80 percent of the civilian workforce left the Missile Defense Agency when it moved from Virginia to Alabama. We cannot underestimate the value of the workforce to mission readiness. Capitalizing on the existing infrastructure and personnel is a more cost-effective basing solution and must be considered.
Serious questions remain about the cost of this decision and its effect on our ability to respond to critical and escalating threats in space. Our nation cannot afford disruptions to the current mission at this time, especially as China and Russia work to match or exceed U.S. capabilities in space. In view of the irregularities of the selection process and the effects on national security, we request you pause all actions related to moving USSPACECOM until thorough reviews by the DoD IG and GAO are complete.
We would also be happy to meet with you to discuss this in further detail.
Sincerely,
Background:
In 2019, Bennet and former U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) led the Colorado delegation in writing to Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and to Acting Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Donovan and Commander of U.S. Space Command General Jay Raymond to emphasize what Colorado offers to be the permanent home of U.S. Space Command. Bennet and Gardner also published an op-ed in the Colorado Springs Gazette advocating for the basing decision. Following the White House’s official announcement of the creation of U.S. Space Command in August 2019, the entire Colorado Congressional Delegation reiterated their call to re-establish the headquarters in Colorado. In the original basing decision process, of the six possible locations that the Air Force named, four were in Colorado: Peterson Air Force Base (AFB), Schriever AFB, Buckley AFB, and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station. In the fall of 2019, the Air Force named Peterson AFB the temporary home to U.S. Space Command.
In December 2019, Bennet met with Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett and spoke with the Commander of U.S. Space Command General John W. Raymond to discuss the importance of a focus on national security space and to reiterate his support for basing Space Command in Colorado.
In May 2020, the Air Force announced a new basing decision process that evaluated self-nominating communities, like Aurora and Colorado Springs, on their ties to the military space mission, existing infrastructure capacity, community support, and cost to the Air Force. The Air Force also announced Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs would remain the provisional location of the command until 2026. Later in May, Bennet and Gardner wrote a letter to Colorado Governor Jared Polis calling for him to support military spouse licensure reciprocity in the state, which Polis then signed into law in July 2020. Spouse licensure reciprocity was a component of the Air Force’s evaluation of each nominating state’s support for military families. Following passage of Colorado House Bill 20-1326, the entire Colorado Congressional Delegation, Polis, and Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera wrote to Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Barrett to highlight the new Colorado law and further demonstrate that Colorado is the best state to serve as the permanent home of the U.S. Space Command.
In June 2020, Bennet welcomed Polis’ endorsement of the self-nomination of both the Aurora and Colorado Springs communities to compete to be the permanent home for U.S. Space Command. At the end of August 2020, the Aurora and Colorado Springs communities submitted their questionnaire responses to the Department of the Air Force completing the next step in the basing process.
In August 2020, Bennet visited Peterson AFB and Schriever AFB for an update on the U.S. Space Command mission and stand up. He also met with General Dickinson, who assumed command in August, and learned about advancements at the National Space Defense Center.
In November 2020, the Air Force announced Colorado Springs as a finalist for the U.S. Space Command headquarters.
In December 2020, Bennet and Hickenlooper joined more than 600 state, federal, local, county and municipal officials, businesspeople, philanthropists, civic leaders, military officials, entrepreneurs and Coloradans from across the state in a letter urging Trump to keep the Command in the Centennial State.
In January 2021, following the relocation announcement, Bennet and Hickenlooper released a statement denouncing the decision and expressing concern that the Trump White House influenced the decision for political reasons.
In January 2021, Bennet also led a letter from the entire Colorado Congressional Delegation that urged President Joe Biden to suspend the Trump Administration’s decision to move U.S. Space Command from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Huntsville, Alabama until the administration conducts a thorough review.
In May 2021, Bennet and U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, urged Biden to fully consider how the move may affect Intelligence Community dependencies and missions as well as the country’s ability to maintain superiority in space.
In June 2021, Bennet, Hickenlooper, and a bipartisan majority of the Colorado Congressional Delegation invited Vice President Kamala Harris to visit Colorado and its thriving space industry.
In August 2021, Bennet expressed concerns over comments former President Trump made on a radio show suggesting his direct involvement in the relocation decision.
Last month, Bennet spoke at the Space Symposium’s Space Technology Hall of Fame Dinner, highlighting Colorado’s leadership in national security space and space innovation and pushing for a thorough review of the decision to relocate U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama.