U.S. Space Command will be unveiling its headquarters sign on Redstone Arsenal on Friday.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Air Force Secretary Troy Meink will attend the unveiling at 2:30 p.m. at the permanent 60-acre site on the arsenal, Space Command Commanding Gen. Stephen Whiting said at the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber Redstone Arsenal update at the Von Braun Center on Wednesday.
Whiting said the sign would show the combatant command’s logo “announcing we are here now.”
Despite a lawsuit filed by Colorado’s attorney general trying to stop the move from the headquarters’ temporary home in Colorado Springs, Whiting called the move expediated and disciplined.
“As you can imagine, this is a very complex undertaking,” the general said. “There are a lot of considerations and a lot of stakeholders involved. Our small, but growing transition office, what we call our program management office, is now up and running at Redstone.”
The move involves transferring more than 1,300 personnel, 60% of whom are civilian employees, Whiting said. U.S. Rep. Dale Strong said during various speaking engagements earlier this year that the move would create about 3,000 spinoff jobs.
“We’ve been hard at work with the military leaders like (Lt.) Gen. (Gavin) Lawrence (deputy Army Material Command commanding general and arsenal senior commander). “We sure appreciate our teammates at Redstone garrison and our stakeholders in the Pentagon in planning the move.”
Whiting said Space Command leadership has met with civil leaders across north Alabama. He met with Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, then-Madison Mayor Paul Finley and Madison County Commission Chairman Mac McCutcheon just days after President Donald Trump announced the move earlier this year.
“We’ve met with all of the congressional leaders,” Whiting said. “We certainly appreciate the mayors and commissioners making time for us as we’ve been in and out of your city over the last three months.”
He said members of Alabama’s congressional delegation have also included construction provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act that will accelerate the move if signed into law. Whiting said the NDAA is up for a vote this week.
Different agencies on the arsenal are assisting with the move. An official with the Defense Intelligence Agency Missile and Space Intelligence Center said during the arsenal update that his agency had been engaged in several conversations with Space Command’s leadership since the announcement and would be providing support during the transition.
Space Command HQ fully operational within 3 years
Martin Traylor, deputy to the Redstone garrison commander, said during a roundtable at the Huntsville-Madison Chamber after the announcement that Space Command headquarters could be fully operational in Huntsville within three years.
Battle said Space Command would be housed in a temporary location while the permanent headquarters were being constructed.
Whiting spent part of his address to the hundreds in attendance on Wednesday explaining what Space Command does, and with a little humor, acknowledging the confusion with U.S. Space Force, which is a branch of the military.
The general explained Space Command was one of the 11 combatant commands overseeing 18,000 personnel involving every branch of the armed services. Whiting said the command is responsible for leading all military operations in space.
He explained Space Command’s role in military operations such as the U.S. strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites earlier this year. Whiting also warned of the growing threats in space militarily from China, which he said has mimicked U.S. operations, and Russia.
Scott Turner covers growth, economic development in the Huntsville area for AL.com and the Huntsville Times. A veteran journalist, his career includes coverage of politics, environmental, military, veteran,…
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