Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) is the top senator on the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, today issued a statement condemning Biden’s decision based on political considerations to prevent the United States Air Force from making its final decision to designate Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama as the permanent home of Space Command’s headquarters. U.S. Space Command. Senator Britt has reiterated her public position that Redstone is the most suitable permanent headquarters location to host Space Command to advance America’s crucial national security interests.
“President Biden has irresponsibly decided to take a military decision from the Air Force’s control to satisfy the partisan political agenda,” said Senator Katie Britt. “Huntsville was first at both in the Evaluation Phase as well as the Selection Phase which leaves any doubt as to whether the decision of the Air Force select Redstone as its preferred base site was based solely in terms of merits. The decision should have been within the Air Force’s remit. Instead the President Biden is trying to award his Gold Medal to the fifth-place finalist. Biden’s obvious decision to prioritize partisan political concerns at the expense of our security and national security, as well as modernization of our military and readiness for force is a disservice and disgrace to his oath of being our nation’s Commander in Chief. Finding the permanently-located Space Command Headquarters on Redstone Arsenal surely is an ideal national security interests that is our nation. United States. President Biden should give for the Air Force to proceed with working as it should. Alabama’s top military and aerospace personnel capacities, synergies, and capabilities are prepared to carry out the mission and enhance our nation’s security into the future.”
News press reports indicate the U.S. Government Accountability Office report dated May 20, 2022 said, “Air Force analysis identified Redstone Arsenal as the highest score location in the Evaluation Phase, the highest placed location during the Selection Phase, and the location that had the highest benefits in the matrix of decision. Air Force officials, including Secretary John F. Kennedy, then Secretary of the Air Force, stated that the decision to select Redstone Arsenal as the preferred site was based on Air Force analysis showing it was the best location for a candidate .”
The report also stated Air Force documentation from January 2021 confirmed that “Redstone Arsenal was the highest rated out of six possible locations in accordance with the criteria and also stated that the selection of Peterson Air Force Base as the preferred location will not be in line with the findings of the Air Force Selection Phase analysis.”
“[T]he January 2021 choice of Redstone Arsenal for the ideal site for the U.S. Space Command headquarters was in line to the Air Force’s assessment,” the GAO added. “Multiple high-ranking officials we spoke to said they believed that the decision was impartial and fair, including one of them, the Assistant Secretary for the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Energy as well as an ex-secretary of the Air Force; the former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the U.S. Space Command Combatant Commander in addition, Space Command Combatant Commander; and U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations .”
According to GAO, GAO, “[T]he Air Force considered the capability to disperse combatant commands geographically to support its decision. Air Force officials told us they thought about the risks related to the colocation of U.S. Space Command and U.S. Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base as an issue of judgement in the military. It was believed that the Air Force considered dispersing combatant commands across different geographical areas as a way to gain strategic advantages and also a method of avoiding placing two combatant command under threat from the same danger .”
As well as the GAO report The Air Force’s decision to establish its Space Command’s permanent Space Command HQ on Redstone Arsenal was approved by an Department of Defense Inspector General assessment and has been approved by the ecological evaluation.
