Hegseth, Senior Leaders, Attend Spacecom Relocation Ceremony

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth joined numerous members of Congress and a handful of senior military officials today to mark the official relocation of U.S. Space Command from Patterson Space Force Base, Colorado, to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.

Prior to assisting in unveiling three large signs denoting that the future Spacecom headquarters will be built on site at Redstone Arsenal, Hegseth delivered brief remarks in support of its relocation.

"Air Force Secretary [Troy Meink] made the right choice recommending to me [and] recommending to [President Donald J. Trump] that this is the place to continue to establish space dominance - right here in Alabama," Hegseth said.

Along with Meink's support, building the new Spacecom headquarters at Redstone Arsenal - which is adjacent to the city of Huntsville - was also championed by the previous two Air Force secretaries, according to U.S. Rep Mike Rodgers of Alabama's 3rd District, who also spoke briefly at the ceremony.

Hegseth said that, along with the values of peace through strength and putting America first, the Trump administration and the War Department also view using common sense as crucial to success.

"It's common sense that this is precisely where Space Command should be; it's common sense that we need to move rapidly and expeditiously, and we will," he said.

"We are deadly serious in committing to cutting every piece of red tape and bureaucracy to get this headquarters established as quickly as humanly possible," he added.

Hegseth noted that today's relocation ceremony was more than just symbolic and served as a recognition that ground needs to be broken for Spacecom's new headquarters quickly, so it can be built and provided with the people and capabilities it needs as soon as possible.

"Because first it was 'He who controls the skies,' [and] now it's 'He who controls the space domain' understands what the future of warfare will look like, and who controls that dominance," he said.

"That's why I'm here today; because the quicker we establish this, the more robust the capabilities are, the more likely we are to deter the next conflict and - if necessary - stand prepared to overwhelmingly defeat our enemies," he continued.

Trump officially announced the relocation of Spacecom - which is one of the U.S. military's 11 unified combatant commands - to Alabama, Sept. 2, 2025.

The command was initially created in September 1985 before being disestablished in October 2002, and its forces and responsibilities were transferred to the U.S. Strategic Command.

Trump reestablished the command in August 2019 during his first term.