A Department of Defense Inspector General report released publicly today details a Biden-era conflict between the Department of the Air Force and U.S. Space Command over where the nation’s newest combatant command should be permanently based.
The heavily-redacted report sheds light on a politically-motivated decision by the previous administration that overrode years of methodical military and logistical planning.
Despite the Air Force’s consistent recommendation of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, as the permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command, President Biden intervened in July 2023 to move the command in Colorado Springs, Colorado—where it was tentatively housed.
At that time, the administration said its rationale depended on maintaining “peak readiness in the space domain.”
However, the Inspector General’s findings indicate that readiness risks had been both anticipated and mitigated in planning for relocation to Alabama. As extensively reported, between 2022 and 2023, four Air Force reviews reaffirmed Redstone Arsenal as the preferred site, citing major cost savings.
“The one-time cost for moving to RSA was $426 million less than remaining in Colorado Springs,” the report states, due to “lower personnel costs and construction savings.”
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Even after U.S. Space Command achieved full operational capability at its temporary headquarters in Colorado Springs, the Air Force insisted the command could have transitioned to Alabama without compromising national security.
Still, USSPACECOM leadership resisted.
In an April 25, 2023 memorandum to the SECAF, Commander Gen. James Dickinson urged that the headquarters remain in Colorado. “Mission success is highly dependent on human capital and infrastructure,” he wrote. “There is risk that most of the 1,000 civilians, contractors, and reservists will not relocate to another location.”
However, the Inspector General found that “USSPACECOM did not conduct any formal surveys to determine how many civilian personnel would relocate.”
The report also clearly states that the IG’s investigation was obstructed by executive-branch legal interference.
“We did not interview the SECAF and SecDef because the Office of White House Counsel and DoD Office of General Counsel would not agree to make these officials available… citing concerns about potentially confidential communications that could implicate presidential executive privilege,” the report states. The IG rejected that condition, stating that allowing legal chaperones “might have negatively impacted the DoD OIG’s unfettered access to such confidential information.”
As a result, “we could not determine why [the SECAF] did not use the authority delegated to him by the SecDef to make and announce a final decision,” the report concludes. Nor could the Inspector General fully determine the Secretary of Defense’s role in the process.
In effect, the final basing decision bypassed standard DoD channels: “On July 31, 2023, the DoD Press Secretary announced that the [President] decided USSPACECOM HQ would permanently remain in Colorado Springs,” the report recounts.
On Tuesday, members of Alabama’s congressional delegation said the report offers continued proof that their years-long concern was deeply legitimate.
“The Biden administration’s attempt to cover up its unjustified political decision is appalling,” U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks) said.
“The Inspector General’s report confirms that the Trump Administration was correct in selecting Huntsville, AL, as the site for SPACECOM Headquarters, and reveals an astounding lack of transparency and accountability by the Biden Administration. After years of promises about ‘due diligence’ and ‘careful consideration,’ political employees at the White House cut out the Air Force and senior defense leaders to select Colorado over Alabama as the site for SPACECOM headquarters.”
Rogers, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, recently announced with confidence that once President Trump’s nominee to lead the Air Force, Troy Meink, is confirmed, a long and needless political war will come to an end — but not without grave consequence.
“According to the IG, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall refused to cooperate with the IG investigation and would not even consent to be interviewed. The Biden administration’s attempt to cover up its unjustified political decision is appalling,” Rogers said.
“The fact is that the Air Force recommended SPACECOM HQ be built in Huntsville, that any disruption associated with that move could be mitigated, and that moving to Huntsville would save the taxpayer over $420,000,000.”
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
