Rep. Lamborn questions commander on decision to move Space Command
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) --During testimony before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, Rep. Doug Lamborn questioned U.S. Space Command about the decision to move its headquarters.
"So, something that's working well and within the Space Command there, side by side, thousands of people, side by side," Lamborn said. "Why rip it in half and send it across the country?"
While Commander Army Gen. James H. Dickinson, who leads Space Command, spoke about the current benefits of having other nearby military units in Colorado, he said relocation to Alabama could happen without disruption.
"So, there is synergy, I think gained by being in the same area. But, I think there's equally synergy in terms of being able to do that in not a remote manner, but in a physically distant manner," Gen. Dickinson said.
Lamborn, however, said it's not a question of how, but rather why the decision was made.
"If the military was told to put Space Command in a corn field in Iowa, you know, they could do it. We can do whatever we want," Lamborn said. "But, why do it when it’s working so well where it is right now?"
When pressed on the topic of a costly secure communications network needed, in the event of a move from Colorado, Dickinson said it would need to be built.
"If we are directed to move, that type of infrastructure would be built and operable to meet my mission needs."
Following the decision to move Space Command headquarters from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama in January, both the U.S. Government Accountability Office and Department of Defense announced investigations into the decision-making process.
In a statement to KRDO following Wednesday's exchange, Rep. Lamborn said, "Every dollar spent on moving Space Command is a wasted dollar that could be spent on enhancing space capabilities. Eight of the nine Space Force Deltas are in Colorado, and seven of those eight are in Colorado Springs. I am also deeply concerned about the civilian workforce attrition, which will likely be around 80%," Lamborn said.
"Additionally, Huntsville lacks the survivable and redundant infrastructure which are abundant in Colorado Springs. The Department of Defense is about to get a budget cut, and we’re in the midst of a great power competition with Russia and China. Now is not the time to make the expensive, unnecessary, and disruptive decision to move U.S. Space Command and materially damage our national security space enterprise."
