Inspector General releases report on 2023 Space Command decision
Taylor Mitchell • 5hHUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A new inspector general report says that in multiple reviews, Redstone Arsenal was consistently found to be the preferred choice for a permanent headquarters for Space Command.
The reviews found that
moving the headquarters from Colorado Springs to Huntsville could save $426 million, primarily due to lower costs for construction and personnel. However, in the summer of 2023, Colorado Springs was selected as the permanent home for Space Command’s headquarters.
The new report doesn’t get into the politics of the command’s location or relocation, but those concerns have been considerable.
In 2021, when Donald Trump was first president, Huntsville was named as a finalist for Space Command’s location. In 2022, the Department of Defense named Redstone Arsenal as the preferred permanent location for the headquarters and found that the evaluation process had been done in a reasonable manner.
Then, in 2023, former President Joe Biden decided to keep Space Command in Colorado Springs, where it had been temporarily based pending a final decision. According to AP, officials said the president was convinced by then Space Command Head General James Dickinson, who argued the move would negatively affect military readiness, a view in contrast to Air Force leadership at the time.
Biden’s decision led to calls for investigations into the former president’s decision from Alabama lawmakers, including Congressmen Mike Rogers and Dale Strong and Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt. . . .
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/inspector-general-releases-report-on-2023-space-command-decision/ar-AA1CZpzo
