The Air Force has reportedly narrowed down its search for a home for President Trump’s newly proposed U.S. Space Command to six military bases.
Four of the bases are in Colorado, one is in California, and one is in Alabama, according to a report from CNN.
The Air Force is considering Buckley Air Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Peterson Air Force Base, and Schriever Air Force Base, all of which are in Colorado, for the new command. The Air Force is also looking at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base and the Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.
In December, Trump signed off on the government’s first space combatant command, a station that would be akin to other combatant commands such as the U.S. Cyber Command based in Fort Meade, Md.
The memo that shows the six bases under consideration said projected manpower for the U.S. Space Command is 1,450 personnel, 827 of which would be civilians.
Floridian politicians, including Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, have lobbied hard to have the Space Command located in the Sunshine State. Rubio sent a letter to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in December pushing for a base in Florida, which is already home to the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Air Force base.
During a hearing on the matter in December, Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., quipped, “With all due respect to my colleague from Florida, Colorado is a mile closer to space than Florida is and a great place for space assets.”
Trump chose Air Force Gen. John Raymond last month to head up the Space Command. Raymond currently serves as the commander of the Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, one of the bases on the short list.
