Space Command to stay in Colorado after Biden rejects move to Alabama

President Joe Biden has decided to keep U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado, overturning a last-ditch decision by the Trump administration to move it to Alabama and ending months of politically fueled debate, according to senior U.S. officials.

The officials said Biden was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness. Dickinson’s view, however, was in contrast to Air Force leadership, who studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was the right move.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the decision ahead of the announcement.

The president, they said, believes that keeping the command in Colorado Springs would avoid a disruption in readiness that the move would cause, particularly as the U.S. races to compete with China in space. And they said Biden firmly believes that maintaining stability will help the military be better able to respond in space over the next decade.

Biden’s decision is sure to enrage Alabama lawmakers and fuel accusations that abortion politics played a role in the choice. The location debate has become entangled in the ongoing battle between Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville and the Defense Department over the move to provide travel for troops seeking reproductive health care. Tuberville opposes the policy and is blocking hundreds of military promotions in protest.

Formally created in August 2019, the command was temporarily based in Colorado, and Air Force and Space Force leaders initially recommended it stay there. In the final days of his presidency Donald Trump decided it should be based in Huntsville.

The change triggered a number of reviews.

Proponents of keeping the command in Colorado have argued that moving it to Huntsville and creating a new headquarters would set back its progress at a time it needs to move quickly to be positioned to match China’s military space rise. And Colorado Springs is also home to the Air Force Academy, which now graduates Space Force guardians, and more than 24 military space missions, including three Space Force bases.

Huntsville, however, scored higher than Colorado Springs in a Government Accountability Office assessment of potential locations and has long been a home to some of earliest missiles used in the nation’s space programs, including the Saturn V rocket. It is home to the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command.

According to officials, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who ordered his own review of the matter, leaned toward Huntsville, while Dickinson was staunchly in favor of staying put. The officials said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin presented both options to Biden.

Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder emphasized in a statement on Monday that Biden’s pick resulted from a “thorough and deliberate evaluation process ... informed by data and analysis.”

Austin, Kendall and Dickinson “all support the President’s decision,” Ryder said.

“Locating Headquarters U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs ultimately ensures peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period,” Ryder said. “It will also enable the command to most effectively plan, execute and integrate military spacepower into multidomain global operations in order to deter aggression and defend national interests.”

Meanwhile, House Armed Services Committee Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., blasted the reversal in his own statement and vowed to continue a congressional inquiry into the selection process.

“I will continue to hold the Biden administration accountable for their egregious political meddling in our national security,” Rogers said Monday. “This fight is far from over.”

Air Force Times senior reporter Rachel Cohen contributed to this story.

Tara Copp is a Pentagon correspondent for the Associated Press. She was previously Pentagon bureau chief for Sightline Media Group.

据美国高级官员透露，乔·拜登总统已决定将美国太空司令部总部留在科罗拉多州，推翻了特朗普政府将其迁至阿拉巴马州的最后决定，结束了数月来由政治因素引发的争论。

官员们表示，拜登最终被太空司令部司令詹姆斯·迪金森将军说服。迪金森认为，现在搬迁总部会危及军事战备。然而，迪金森的观点与空军领导层截然相反。空军领导层对这个问题进行了深入研究，并认定迁往阿拉巴马州亨茨维尔是正确的举措。

这些官员在正式宣布之前匿名讨论了这一决定。

他们说，总统认为将指挥部留在科罗拉多斯普林斯可以避免搬迁造成的战备中断，尤其是在美国与中国在太空领域展开激烈竞争之际。他们还说，拜登坚信，保持稳定将有助于美军在未来十年更好地应对太空挑战。

拜登的决定势必激怒阿拉巴马州的立法者，并加剧人们对堕胎政治如何影响这一选择的指责。地点之争已与阿拉巴马州共和党参议员汤米·图伯维尔和国防部之间关于为寻求生殖健康服务的军人提供差旅的持续斗争交织在一起。图伯维尔反对这项政策，并以阻挠数百名军人晋升作为抗议。

该司令部于2019年8月正式成立，最初临时设在科罗拉多州，空军和太空军领导人最初建议其继续留在那里。但在唐纳德·特朗普总统任期的最后阶段，他决定将其迁至亨茨维尔。

这一变化引发了一系列审查。

支持将太空部队司令部留在科罗拉多州的人士认为，将其迁至亨茨维尔并建立新的总部会阻碍其发展进程，而目前太空部队需要迅速发展以应对中国在太空领域的军事崛起。此外，科罗拉多斯普林斯也是空军学院的所在地，该学院目前培养太空部队的军人，并且拥有超过24个军事太空任务，其中包括三个太空部队基地。

然而，在政府问责局对潜在选址的评估中，亨茨维尔的得分高于科罗拉多斯普林斯，而且长期以来一直是美国太空计划中一些最早使用的导弹的所在地，包括土星五号火箭。美国陆军太空与导弹防御司令部也设在这里。

据官员透露，空军部长弗兰克·肯德尔下令对此事进行独立审查，他倾向于亨茨维尔方案，而迪金森则坚决主张留在原地。官员们表示，国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀已向拜登提出了这两种方案。

五角大楼发言人帕特里克·赖德准将在周一的一份声明中强调，拜登的选择是“经过彻底和深思熟虑的评估过程……并参考了数据和分析”的结果。

莱德说，奥斯汀、肯德尔和迪金森“都支持总统的决定”。

莱德表示：“将美国太空司令部总部设在科罗拉多斯普林斯，最终将确保我国在关键时期保持太空领域的最佳战备状态。这也将使司令部能够最有效地规划、执行和整合军事太空力量，将其融入多域全球行动，从而遏制侵略并捍卫国家利益。”

与此同时，众议院军事委员会成员、阿拉巴马州共和党众议员迈克·罗杰斯在自己的声明中猛烈抨击了这一逆转，并誓言将继续对遴选过程进行国会调查。

罗杰斯周一表示：“我将继续追究拜登政府对我国国家安全进行恶劣政治干预的责任。这场斗争远未结束。”

《空军时报》资深记者瑞秋·科恩对本文亦有贡献。

塔拉·科普是美联社驻五角大楼记者。她此前曾担任Sightline媒体集团驻五角大楼分社社长。