Space Command builds out Colorado HQ as Congress members try to force Alabama move

The head of U.S. Space Command is building out his military command headquarters in Colorado, even as members of Congress try to force the Defense Department to move the headquarters to Alabama as planned by holding funding hostage, two congressional officials and two defense officials say.

NBC News was first to report that the Biden administration is reconsidering an approved move of the headquarters to Alabama because the state has imposed a near total ban on abortion.

On June 7, Gen. James Dickinson, the commander of Space Command, initiated a review to determine whether the command is at Full Operational Capability, or FOC, the officials said, which means whether it has the resources and personnel to be totally capable of performing its mission in its current location. While under Initial Operating Capability, Space Command is hiring personnel for temporary positions at its current headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but under FOC it could make the positions permanent.

At a meeting with members of Congress last week, Dickinson said the goal is to achieve and declare FOC by the end of this summer or early fall.

This week House lawmakers introduced two bills that would freeze money for building, renovation or leasing space in Colorado Springs until a headquarters decision is made, publicly announced and justified by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who has responsibility for choosing between the two sites. Lawmakers would also cut half of Kendall’s travel budget until the decision is announced.

Space Command is a unified Pentagon command with elements from the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, and it is distinct from the separate military branch known as Space Force.

The Republican-run House Appropriations subcommittee on defense went even further Wednesday, including a provision that Kendall’s decision must be consistent with findings from a Government Accountability Office report and a Pentagon inspector general’s review, both of which found Huntsville, Alabama, was the preferable location. The language makes it impossible for Kendall to select any location other than Huntsville.

In January 2021, President Donald Trump announced Space Command would be permanently headquartered in Huntsville. Soon after it took office, the Biden administration requested a review of the decision. Both the GAO and the Pentagon inspector general found that ultimately Huntsville was the appropriate choice given the requirements for the command and that the selection process, while not perfect, was legitimate.

But the Air Force still did not initiate a move. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin turned the decision over to Kendall, who started his own review late last year. Months later, with a decision still not announced, congressional and defense officials told NBC News that the Biden administration was trying to stop the move to Alabama because it disagrees with the state’s newly restrictive laws on abortion and reproductive care.

If the headquarters moved to Alabama, it would be at Redstone Arsenal, which does not have a base hospital, leaving staff members and dependents to rely on local civilian medical providers. The military would have to pay for female service members and dependents to leave the state for abortions and some reproductive care. The command is expected to have about 1,400 personnel, many of whom will be civilians, plus their families.

In May, Kendall announced yet another review, claiming that Dickinson had recently changed his needs for a headquarters and that the “fundamental changes” could affect the basing decision. Kendall sent a team to Colorado last week to assess the new requirements.

At the same time, Dickinson met with members of the Alabama and Colorado congressional delegations and denied that he had made any changes, according to two congressional officials and one defense official. Dickinson did not answer when he was asked why Kendall sent a team to Colorado.

Public disputes between senior U.S. military and defense officials are rare, but the basing location decision has become a political liability, with the Biden administration pushing for Colorado and many senior military leaders standing behind the process that selected Alabama.

“The Air Force is just delaying this decision because every review finds for Huntsville and they don’t want to admit it,” a congressional official said.

A spokesperson for U.S. Space Command confirmed Dickinson met with the Alabama and Colorado delegations in Washington, D.C., last week. “The commander clarified to the delegations USSPACECOM is prepared to execute its warfighting requirements from any location. USSPACECOM stands ready to deter aggression and defend space capabilities,” the spokesperson said.

An Air Force spokesperson said the branch is awaiting Kendall’s basing decision and declined to comment further.

In his meeting with the Alabama and Colorado delegations, Dickinson reiterated his comment that moving the headquarters would not affect operations or represent a national security concern because of operational redundancies that already exist. It would be likely to take three to five years to move the command to Huntsville; during the move, operations could continue in Colorado without any pause, according to multiple defense and military officials.

After the meeting, one of the members of the Alabama delegation tweeted that Dickinson also said he favors Huntsville for the headquarters.

“I was assured by him that he couldn’t envision any circumstance where he wouldn’t recommend Huntsville as the permanent SPACECOM HQ. He had no concerns with the initial decision,” GOP Rep. Dale Strong tweeted.

And Republican Sen. Katie Britt released a statement saying Dickinson “confirmed to us that the headquarters of U.S. Space Command belongs on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.”

She added that “the White House must keep politics out of this.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com