For Immediate Release:
August 22, 2023
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
Cameron Mixon (334) 242-7491
(Montgomery) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Inspector General demanding an investigation into the sudden reversal of the decision to locate U.S. Space Command headquarters from Huntsville, Alabama, to Colorado. The request for an investigation comes after news that head of Space Command, General James Dickinson a previous advocate for the Redstone Arsenal site in Huntsville, changed his recommendation to President Biden for headquarters to be located to Colorado. The change of preference occurred just as General Dickinson in April 2023 purchased a $1.5 million, 20-acre ranch near the Colorado location, which was never disclosed to stakeholders in the process.
“Since taking office, this president has targeted red states for daring to resist his radical progressive agenda. But when it comes to national security, politics must take a backseat,” said Attorney General Steve Marshall. “I implore the Inspector General to investigate the oddly timed investment by General Dickinson which coincided with his recommendation against the Air Force’s preferred site in Huntsville. And I will continue to use the unique power of my office to hold President Biden accountable and demand transparency into this politically motivated charade.”
In January 2021, after a thorough vetting process, the Secretary of the Air Force identified the Redstone Arsenal site in Huntsville for the U.S. Space Command headquarters. The recommendation for the site was then affirmed by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Inspector General’s Office and the Government Accountability Office finding that the Air Force had conducted an accurate analysis and Huntsville was the superior location. Yet on July 31, 2023, government officials reported that President Biden reversed the decision to locate Space Command’s headquarters in Huntsville and instead selected a location in Colorado. News reports credited General James Dickinson with convincing Biden to choose Colorado which stated, “General James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness. Dickinson’s view, however, was in contrast to Air Force leadership.”
General Dickinson’s role surprised Alabama officials, who had spoken to the General weeks earlier, in June 2023, where he confirmed with Alabama’s congressional delegation that Redstone Arsenal would be the headquarters for U.S. Space Command. However, in April 2023, General Dickinson registered a deed to a $1.5 million, 20-acre ranch near the Colorado headquarters location. The General did not disclose his personal interest to Alabama officials, and it is unknown whether he disclosed his personal interest in Colorado to President Biden or other superiors.
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