U.S. Space Command is operating a small Program Management Office with about 20 personnel at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, as part of the phased relocation of its headquarters, Gen. Stephen N. Whiting told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
The command plans to break ground on a new headquarters facility on an approximately 60-acre site near the center of Redstone Arsenal in 2027, according to the City of Huntsville. The facility is scheduled for completion around 2031, with an additional year for personnel move-in.
“To guarantee uninterrupted command and control throughout the transition, USSPACECOM will phase the relocation of personnel and missions to Redstone Arsenal and operate from interim facilities while a dedicated, purpose-built warfighting platform, designed to meet the demands of USSPACECOM’s mission needs is constructed,” Whiting said in his March 17, 2026, prepared posture statement.
“I’m very happy that we’re able to take advantage of the MILCON reform language that the Committee inserted into the last National Defense Authorization Act, which is allowing us to build our new headquarters in a different way than we would have last year without that language,” Whiting said during the March 26 hearing.
A ribbon-cutting for a new Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) at Redstone Arsenal, with capacity for more than 80 people, is scheduled for April. Whiting said interim facilities at Redstone Arsenal are being renovated and upgraded.
Whiting noted the number of personnel at Redstone is expected to grow to nearly 200 by the end of 2026. He added that he and Secretary of the Air Force Troy E. Meink will “memorialize” a decision on the military construction agent “in the very near future” after discussions with Air Force and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials.
The relocation involves approximately 1,400 positions out of the command’s roughly 1,700 military and civilian personnel. U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., has said that about 50% of headquarters personnel are expected to be in Alabama by the end of 2028.
The command is offering relocation bonuses paid over several years and coverage of moving expenses for civilians who relocate to Huntsville. A retention bonus has been implemented for headquarters staff civilians remaining in Colorado Springs until their functions relocate, according to a U.S. Space Command spokesperson.
“I need my workforce to stay with me in Colorado until their function is ready to move,” Whiting said. The command has described continuity, the care of personnel and families, and preserving warfighting culture as priorities during the relocation.
In January, Whiting appointed Maj. Gen. Terry L. Grisham, an Alabama native with nearly 40 years of military and civilian service, to lead the transition as director of the Program Management Office at Redstone Arsenal.
“Terry’s nearly 40 years of expertise is informed by both his military service in the Alabama National Guard and civil service with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command,” Whiting said in the January announcement.
“This experience — paired with his deep ties to the surrounding community — will prove invaluable as he leads our efforts on Redstone Arsenal to expeditiously relocate our warfighting organization while ensuring that the perspectives of both our military and civilian workforce are clearly represented,” he concluded.
The relocation follows President Donald Trump’s September 2025 designation of Redstone Arsenal as the headquarters location. Colorado has filed a lawsuit challenging the relocation; the Trump administration has sought its dismissal.
Read the full article here
