Keep Space Force Command headquarters in Colorado
Washington Examiner
Video Embed
The nation must ensure that the Space Force is on the surest possible footing for future success.
This is crucially important to remember as the Biden administration considers whether to reverse former President Donald Trump’s politically contemptuous and strategically reckless directive to relocate Space Force Command headquarters from Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado to the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. A Government Accountability Office study found the “appearance of bias” in Trump’s decision. That puts it mildly.
THE SMEARING OF JUSTICE THOMAS PART X
This issue is very poorly suited to political games.
The military’s newest service branch is tasked with a mission of immense importance: the application of space-based capabilities to protect American and allied interests at home and abroad. China and Russia are potent noteworthy adversaries in space. Both have deployed and are developing a range of space-based weapons. Some are designed to blind or physically destroy other nations’ satellites electronically. Guess which nation is target No. 1?
It’s us.
To understand the scale of this challenge, consider that China intends to launch nearly 13,000 satellites into low-Earth orbit. This is designed to compete with U.S. commercial satellites and to serve Beijing’s business or espionage interests. A recent Chinese military paper pledged that “new weapons, including lasers and high-power microwaves, would be developed and used to destroy [Elon Musk’s] Starlink satellites that pass over China or other sensitive regions.”
If the People’s Liberation Army is thinking about destroying commercial satellites, what do you think it’s considering as the fate of U.S. military satellites?
And it’s not just China. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, “It is necessary to concentrate efforts on the use of near-Earth space. … It is necessary to significantly increase the production of satellites.”
The space threat extends downward. China’s capabilities would be crucial in guiding the PLA’s potent ballistic missiles pointed toward U.S. aircraft carriers. Some 5,000 Americans serve on each Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. China might use its satellite killers to blind U.S. communications systems, leaving outnumbered U.S. Navy and Air Force units unable to locate an enemy that is closing in to kill them. The Space Force’s success or failure will be indispensable to America’s overall military’s success or failure and thus the nation’s security.
Unless President Joe Biden takes urgent action, the Space Force will soon be undermined by a shift of location that will erode its readiness and capabilities and waste taxpayer money.
Trump, imply to reward the loyalty of Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), ordered that Space Force headquarters be relocated from Colorado to Alabama. As one senior Trump administration official told reporters shortly before Trump left office, “It is undeniable at this point that Trump loves Tuberville and [then-Rep.] Mo Brooks, and this was a big ask from both of them that was important.”
A big ask and a big mistake.
Space Force Command headquarters is already located where it should be, at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs. The national security case for keeping it there is overwhelming.
Why fix what isn’t broken and risk breaking something? Consider that most Space Operations Command units, the bread and butter of its activities, are also in Colorado. It makes sense to have the command headquarters for these units close by.
The same applies to Peterson and the Air Force Academy. If the Space Force is to flourish, it must attract young officers to choose the Space Force for their career paths. The vast range of Air Force and Space Force opportunities in Colorado, let alone networking opportunities, which, for good or ill, are important for military promotion, make Peterson the most natural fit for the headquarters.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
There’s also the defensive utility of Peterson Space Force Base, located as it is deep in the nation’s interior. This limits its vulnerability to submarine or bomber missile strikes.
The Space Force Command’s headquarters should be located where the nation’s interests are best served. Considering that Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered his military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027 and that Biden has repeatedly said that he would order U.S. military to support Taiwan’s defense, this is no time to put politics before the Space Force’s needs. Biden should overturn Trump’s misguided decision and keep these headquarters where they belong.