Florida still in it for Space Force
Ketcham: State remains in the hunt for command headquarters.
Despite seemingly long odds, Florida hasn’t given up on landing the command center for the nation’s newest military branch, Space Force.
Dale Ketcham, Space Florida’s vice president of government and external relations, said the state is “still competing” for the headquarters for the new branch, which will have an initial job of protecting satellites and other hardware already in space.
A $738 billion defense spending bill President Donald Trump signed on Dec. 20 includes $148 million to build a Combined Space Operations Facility at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo.
But the Schriever facility is not considered the permanent location for the headquarters, Ketcham said.
“California, Alabama are in the mix. Florida is still competing. Louisiana, Virginia, Texas and some others are hoping to land this,” Ketcham said during an interview Saturday on Fox News. “The important thing is, where is the best place to put it for the long-term national interest.”
In May, the Air Force released its shortlist of possible locations, and none was in Florida. The bases were: In Colorado, Buckley Air Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Peterson Air Force Base and Schriever; Vandenberg Air Force Base in California; and the
Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.
Gov. Ron DeSantis this year has pitched Trump on Florida for the Space Force command. He has tied the new branch with the space industry at Cape Canaveral, which has seen a resurgence as private companies have moved in, spurred in part by a space race among billionaires.
Space Florida, which works to bolster the state’s space industry, is chaired by Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez.
For the states competing for the command headquarters, the potential benefits include jobs and a boost to the local economy.
Space Force is expected to move from within the U.S. Air Force to its own representation on the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Oct. 1, when a five-year phase in begins.
Trump has asked Congress for $8 billion during the phase-in period.
While uniforms and logos must still be worked out, about 16,000 U.S. Air Force active-duty and civilian personnel are being assigned to the new branch, which will take over existing space-related missions from the Air Force, Army and Navy.
The Air Force is expected to hand over about $11 billion in space-related programs to Space Force in 2021.