President Donald Trump’s FBI Director is telling people to visit Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville if they want to see what a top of the line law enforcement center really looks like.
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville), Vice Chairman of Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee, spoke with FBI Director, Kash Patel, Wednesday regarding the Bureau’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request.
During the hearing, Representative Strong questioned Director Patel on Huntsville’s role in keeping Americans safe.
“I wish everybody would go down to Huntsville, Alabama. It is our premier, experienced law-enforcement capability center and training facility that the interagency only wishes they had.”
–@FBIDirectorKash pic.twitter.com/wtflGuZFDg
— Dale W. Strong (@RepDaleStrong) May 7, 2025
“What I saw while I was there was the best example of what I see when appropriators work with the bureau to defend the nation and I wish everybody would go down to Huntsville, Alabama,” Patel said. “It is our premier, premier experienced law-enforcement capability center and training facility that the interagency only wishes they had.”
Patel visited the site alongside U.S. Sens. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) in April.
What we have down there in cyber, in long-range missile defense capabilities, nested there with NASA and the Department of Defense and further programs, including our terrorism explosive device center, which the world relies on to stop bombs from going off and so much more is down in Huntsville, Alabama.
“And the reason it’s there is because appropriators were brilliant enough to provide a space outside of Washington, D.C. to take a geographic footprint and save money instead of rebuilding here in Washington,” Patel continued, “to do it for half the cost in Alabama and that’s why we’re moving 500 FBI employees this year to Huntsville because the technical expertise they possess and we do not want to remove from the FBI is nested in Huntsville and not Washington DC and in order to train the future men and women.
“The FBI, the DHS, the DOD and every other intelligence agency we have they’re already asking us ‘When do we get to go to Redstone?’ So, I encourage everyone to go down there.”
Strong also highlighted the facility during the hearing.
“Let me start by shining a light on my district, Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Huntsville, Alabama, and Redstone Arsenal. The FBI’s presence at Redstone Arsenal dates back over 50 years to 1971,” Strong said. “Currently, FBI Redstone seats over 2,000 personnel and includes personnel from 20 of the FBI’s 30 sections. Time and again North Alabama has answered the call to support the FBI with a second to work for state-of-the-art facility and plenty of room for cost-effective and responsible growth.”
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Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
