A bipartisan group of Ohio U.S. lawmakers is pushing to relocate U.S. Space Command headquarters to Ohio.
In a letter sent this week to President Joe Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, and Chief of Space Operations General B. Chance Saltzman lawmakers from Ohio implored Biden to select Dayton’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as headquarters for the U.S. Space Command and to locate additional U.S. Space Force units in Ohio in partnership with the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky.
The letter, signed by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representatives Dave Joyce (R-OH-14), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09), Max Miller (R-OH-07), Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03), Shontel Brown (D-OH-11), Emilia Sykes (D-OH-34), and Greg Landsman (D-OH-01) said that the state’s unique facilities allow NASA, the Department of Defense, and other organizations to carry out specialized research and testing that “cannot be performed anywhere else in the world.”
According to the letter, the state’s many industry and university partners “create a synergy around national security and space that is unmatched around the country.”
“From the Wright brothers to American heroes like John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, the story of modern aviation is rooted in Ohio – and Ohio is ready to meet the challenges of the future,” The letter reads.
The letter continues by saying that the change would present a chance to rethink the limits of military space power and threat deterrence.
Former President Donald Trump established Space Command late in 2019; its interim headquarters are in Colorado Springs. In addition to its current location, military bases in Alabama, New Mexico, Nebraska, Texas, and Florida are vying to become its new permanent home.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine began Ohio’s campaign for the headquarters in a letter he submitted to former President Trump in September 2020 highlighting Ohio’s strong track record in populating science-rich jobs with a superior workforce.
Reportedly, U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) didn’t sign the letter because, after consulting with officials within the Department of Defense, he doesn’t believe the state has a realistic possibility of obtaining the headquarters citing the department’s internal decision-making process.
Business organizations including the Dayton Development Coalition, Ohio Southeast, the Columbus Partnership, REDI Cincinnati, Regional Growth Partnership Northwest Ohio, Team NEO, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce, the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Toledo Chamber of Commerce have also vocalized support for the move by sending their own letter to President Biden.
The Biden administration expects to make a final decision on the relocation of U.S. Space Command Headquarters at some point this year.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “U.S. Space Command” by U.S. Space Command.
