WASHINGTON — A new report reiterates that Huntsville remains the preferred location for Space Command headquarters, according to an analysis of the Air Force’s processes used to select a permanent home for the headquarters.
A Government Accountability Office report released Thursday also highlights ongoing operational concerns with facilities and staff at the current headquarters located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
An official decision on a potential move of the headquarters to Redstone Arsenal is expected soon after the U.S. Senate confirmed Air Force Secretary Troy Meink earlier this month.
Despite Space Command headquarters in Colorado achieving full operational capability in Dec. 2023, meaning it’s considered fully ready to complete its missions, the report found there are still “personnel, facilities, and communications challenges” impeding the establishment of the full headquarters in Colorado Springs.
“Officials also cited benefits in being colocated with operational space missions and centers,” the report reads. “As a result of identified challenges, officials stated the Command’s posture is not sustainable long term and new military construction would be needed to support the headquarters’ operations in Colorado Springs, Colorado.”
New military construction in Colorado Springs was put on hold pending the outcome of the GAO report and a previous report due to a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 led by Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mike Rogers, R,-Saks, that prevented funds from being used on the headquarters.
“According to Air Force documentation, without new construction, command, control, and mission operations will continue to operate inefficiently, the report reads.
The report also reviewed the Air Force’s selection process from May 2022 to July 2023 that led to the announcement that Redstone Arsenal was the preferred permanent home for SPACECOM headquarters. The Air Force also deemed it the preferred site in 2021.
President Joe Biden then announced in 2023 that the headquarters would remain in Colorado, where it was located temporarily, citing military readiness.
Rogers said Thursday the report reaffirmed that Huntsville is the best location for the headquarters.
“President Biden ignored multiple Air Force analyses and put his political ambitions above the welfare of the American people when he made the decision to put the headquarters in Colorado Springs,” Rogers said in a statement. “President Biden cited “military readiness” to justify his choice, but we now know his own administration officials repeatedly told him that Huntsville was the best location, and “military readiness” concerns were fictional.”
“This blatant interference and politicization of a critical decision on national security would cost the taxpayer over $420,000,000. The contrast could not be clearer. President Trump chose the best location for SPACECOM headquarters. I look forward to working with the Trump Administration to rectify yet another one of Biden’s national security blunders.”
The report looked at how the Air Force determined its basing process, including cost, workforce, ability to achieve full operational capability, and the operational impact of a transition to a new location from Colorado.
The results of these analyses continued to point to Huntsville as the Air Force’s preferred location for the headquarters.
However, the GAO found the Air Force’s reevaluation process did have some shortfalls. For example, the GAO noted that the Air Force updated certain cost estimate elements during the reevaluation, such as one-time construction costs, but no rationale was provided for why certain costs were included or omitted.
One part of the process involved a transition analysis that revealed moving the headquarters to Huntsville would cost $426 million less than keeping the headquarters in Colorado over 15 years.
“The analysis further concluded that U.S. Space Command would achieve (full operational capability) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, earlier than any other candidate location, and although a move from Colorado Springs would disrupt the civilian workforce, mitigation measures were available to support a move away from that location.”
Rogers requested the report in 2023 along with a Department of Defense Inspector General report, which was published in April. That report revealed concerns over military readiness and losing workers with a relocation were connected to a decision to keep the headquarters in Colorado instead of moving it to Huntsville, the preferred location.
The command directs military space operations, from communications and intelligence gathering to missile defense and radar.