DENVER — The decision to move U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama was done improperly, four Colorado congressmen said, after being briefed on an upcoming report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Three Democrats, Sen. Michael Bennet, Sen. John Hickenlooper and Rep. Jason Crow, released a statement with Republican Rep. Jason Lamborn after being briefed on the draft.
“We have said before that the U.S. Space Command basing decision was the result of a flawed and untested process that lacked transparency and neglected key national security and cost considerations," the statement said. "After reviewing the draft GAO report, we are even more concerned about the questionable decision to move U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama."
> Video above from March: Head of U.S. Space Command wants decision about department's move soon.
The congressmen went on to say that the war in Ukraine and China's space expansion reaffirm the need for U.S. Space Command to remain in Colorado reach full-operational capabilities.
"We cannot afford any operational disruptions or delays to the mission currently being conducted at Peterson Space Force Base, which is why U.S. Space Command must remain in Colorado," the statement said.
The congressmen ended by saying they will continue bipartisan efforts to keep Space Command at Peterson Space Force Base, and that the GOA report will be released in the near future.
It was announced in January 2021 that Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama was selected as the preferred location for Space Command, which critics said was the result of political considerations that bypassed the military's top choice of Colorado Springs.
Former President Donald Trump said in an August 2021 radio interview that it was his decision to choose Alabama as the new home for Space Command.
"I single-handedly said, 'let's go to Alabama,'" Trump said. That contradicted Pentagon statements that Huntsville was picked by a nonpartisan process that weighed Colorado Springs and other suitors for the command independently.
In September 2021, Bennet, Hickenlooper, Lamborn and Crow released a letter with Reps. Diana DeGette (D), Joe Neguse (D), Ed Perlmutter (D) and Lauren Boebert (R) sent to the Secretary of the Air Force raising national security concerns about the move.
The letter read in part:
“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.”
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