Tuberville presses general on Space Command

—

March 10, 2023

The day after a heated debate on the Senate floor over Alabama’s abortion law and relocating the U.S. Space Command headquarters to the Yellowhammer State, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville pressed Gen. James Dickinson on the Air Force’s decision to move the command to Redstone Arsenal.

In a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, Tuberville questioned Dickinson about the criteria and scores that led to Huntsville’s selection. Dickinson confirmed the process that chose Redstone Arsenal as the number one choice for SPACECOM, but he couldn’t recall Redstone finished on top.

“Which community ranked No. 1 in that analysis?” Tuberville asked.

“I don’t recall exactly which one,” Dickinson said.

“I’ll refresh your memory: Huntsville,” Tuberville said. “Do you recall which base ranked second?”

Dickinson again said he didn’t recall.

Tuberville then proceeded to identify the next two choices (bases in Nebraska and San Antonio) and came back to Huntsville’s ranking.

“The Commander in Chief (Donald Trump) selected the location that the Air Force ranked No. 1,” he said. “Yet since the president selected Huntsville, the location, the Air Force study ranked No. 1, in January 2021, we’ve had two years of delay.

“The world is on fire right now and we need to catch up.”

Tuberville told Dickinson the Colorado congressional delegation asked for inspector general and GAO reports on the process. SPACECOM headquarters is at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado.

“Ironic, isn’t i?” Tuberville said. “Colorado wasn’t even second or third, but they asked for a report.

“So, when the GAO examined this process, they said, and I’m going to quote here, ‘Redstone Arsenal ranked as the highest scoring location in the Evaluation Phase, the highest ranked location in the Selection Phase, and the location with the most advantages in the decision matrix.’”

On Wednesday, Tuberville took to the Senate floor to lay out the facts supporting Redstone Arsenal as the best location for SPACECOM and urge the military to permanently bring SPACECOM to Huntsville as soon as possible.