State lawmakers, local city leaders meet with Space Command leader to discuss transition

WASHINGTON — Space Command is moving quickly to bring the headquarters to Huntsville through meetings with members of the state’s congressional delegation and north Alabama leaders last week.

The commander of U.S. Space Command, Gen. Stephen Whiting, met with Congressman Dale Strong on Tuesday, the lawmaker told Alabama Daily News, to give an update on the progress. It marks one week since President Donald Trump announced he was moving the headquarters to Redstone Arsenal from Colorado.

“It’s actually going to go faster than most people originally thought,” Rep. Strong, R-Huntsville, told ADN ahead of his meeting with Whiting. “You start thinking about the process of what it takes. … The state of Alabama, the city of Huntsville, and other local governments (are) working to get everything moving forward, but it’s still an exciting time.”

A spokesperson for U.S. Space Command told ADN that Whiting traveled with a small team to meet with city leaders. Space Command does not yet have permanent personnel at Redstone Arsenal, but it will have a presence there throughout the transition, the spokesperson said.

House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers and Alabama Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt also plan to discuss the transition with the commander. Through his conversation, Tuberville said he wants to figure out what Space Command needs to be successful in Alabama.

“(I want to hear) his plans, his thoughts, what’ll be the easiest way to do it,” Tuberville said. “We want to be as much help as we can.”

Last Monday, Whiting made stops at Huntsville and Madison city halls to meet with Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and Madison Mayor Paul Finley.

“Our job right now is to figure out how expeditiously, in a professional and disciplined manner, we can start to make the move that the president has directed,” Whiting told Battle in a recorded video after their meeting. “All while continuing our vital national security missions, which is to defend American interests in space.”

About 1,400 direct jobs tied to the headquarters are expected to come to Huntsville over five years or about 280 jobs per year.

Despite concern expressed in a Department of Defense Inspector General report that the command could lose workers because of the relocation, Strong remains steadfast that Huntsville and all of north Alabama is an appealing place for the Space Command workers to call home over the coming years.

“There’s a more common accord between Colorado and Huntsville,” Strong said. “You look at the education, the talent, family awareness, people want more for their families.”

The move to Redstone Arsenal will be a phased approach. First, a “torch party” is expected, which is an advance group that prepares for an incoming arrival of a new unit.