The Loss of Space Command Headquarters Brings an Alabama City Down to Earth

[douglas9]

Even as a child in the 1960s, Jan Davis felt a twinge of resentment about her hometown, Huntsville, Ala., being overlooked.

Rocket tests rattled windows and doors across town, and everyone seemed to have a familial connection to the work of building the rockets that powered NASA’s mission to put a man on the moon. Still, it was mission control in Houston and Cape Canaveral in Florida that became worldwide symbols of the space race.

So when Ms. Davis drove with her family to watch the Apollo 11 launch, she made a sign for their car: “Look out moon, here comes Huntsville.”

Ms. Davis would take herself to space — on three shuttle missions as a NASA astronaut — while the city worked to be even more central to the aerospace and military industry. It attracted legions of scientists, defense contractors and federal investment. And in the final days of the Trump administration, Huntsville was selected as the permanent home of the United States Space Command.

But this week the Pentagon announced it had reversed that call, instead keeping the headquarters in Colorado Springs. The decision left many in Huntsville smarting at being cast into the outer orbit of influence and questioning whether their city was passed over for political reasons beyond their control.


https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/us/politics/huntsville-space-command-colorado-springs.html

[Sedona]

1. Interesting start

Can someone please post a gift link? I'd love to read the rest.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. I might go to my library, just to read this article.

[LenaBaby61]

3. Too bad, too sad.

Tell racist, pro-putin, pro-Russian, Jan. 6th involved traitor/terrorist, US Military-hating, illiterate Tuberville to go to hell. It's all his fault that Alabama lost the US Space command center in Colorado. I'm not going to read this column, but this woman needs to go have a word with that evil, old dummy Tuberville. IF she has savory words for him, then good going.

Tuberville fooled around, and Alabama found with our military appointments which makes the US much less safe, and he and Alabama found out.

[Marthe48]

14. And the fault of Alabama voters

Who elected the pos.

[LenaBaby61]

46. THANK YOU!!

[AllBlue]

4. Check the article out here :

https://archive.ph/1rRrf

[Sedona]

8. Thank you!

[mountain grammy]

37. Thanks.. appreciate that.

[Walleye]

5. "Political reasons beyond their control?" They voted for the asshole, they elected him

If they could bring themselves to vote for Democrats we wouldn’t be in this mess

[LittleGirl]

9. A tiny blue dot in Huntsville

Amongst a sea of red. They didn’t stand a chance against that red tide. There probably wasn’t any democrats to vote for either.

[Walleye]

11. I guess they have to choose between their desire for prosperity in their hatred of Democrats

[LittleGirl]

13. My uncle who died in December

Didn’t have Ds to vote for in Alabama. He lived in Florence.

[Tanuki]

16. Doug Jones was the Democratic incumbent who was defeated by "Coach" Tuberville

Jones had a stellar career which included prosecuting the KKK for the Birmingham church bombing. He defeated the disgraced Roy Moore to win the special election to fill the seat vacated when Jeff Session resigned to join the Trump administration, and was running to retain the seat. It's unfathomable tgat he woukd be replaced by someone so unqualified abd unworthy. I live in TN, btw, and understand there are plenty of good Democrats in red states who don't deserve to be included in the generalized scorn.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Jones_(politician)

[SouthernDem4ever]

17. Yes and I am one of them

But I don't mind the heat on my state to try and change. My state deserves any scorn it gets for being backwards, twisted or out of touch with reality.

[Stuckinthebush]

29. Same here

True Blue Alabama Dem. This state is so backward. We in the blue islands don’t stand a chance any more. With the Alabama Dem Party in such bad shape I don’t see that changing. I love Huntsville but how can we ask people to move to Alabama for a government job when Alabama will do all it can to restrict their rights? Good call to keep space command in Colorado

[LittleGirl]

20. My uncle was a Dean

at the University of Northern Alabama. He published a book in 2022 and wrote specifically that he HAD to vote for republicans because the seats were uncontested. He would have loved to vote for more Ds being the liberal professor he was before Dean. I meant no disrespect.

[paleotn]

21. Madison County (Huntsville) went 52.8% for Trump in 2020.

I agree that's not bad compared to the rest of the Alabama cesspool, but it's not Birmingham or the Black Belt.

[House of Roberts]

24. I voted here in Huntsville in the 2020 election.

There was Joe and Kamala at the top of the ticket, and a Dem woman running for President of the Alabama Public Service Commision. That was it. No other offices were contested.

[paleotn]

40. Irrelevant. A Dem was still on the ballet for president.

and the majority of voters in the area chose a twice impeached, orange dickhead.

[ThoughtCriminal]

49. El Paso County (Colorado) went 53.54% for Trump

Huntsville itself is probably slightly more progressive than Colorado Springs.

I grew up in Huntsville, and it was noticeably different from the rest of Alabama. But the rural parts of Madison County remained hard-core conservative.

But the bottom line is that Trump was mad at Colorado, and that was the only reason for moving Space Command away from NORAD.

[plimsoll]

28. They elected a terrorist.

His stunt of holding up the promotions made him the terrorist of the moment. You shouldn't give in to terrorists, Tommy may just be the first to have his constituents punished for his terrorism.

[Walleye]

32. The man is a traitor to his country

[gab13by13]

6. Space Command is about to lose a commanding officer

because of Tuberville.

[Irish_Dem]

7. They are lying. They did this to themselves.

Electing racist, anti-women, leaders is making the military want nothing to do with the entire state.

Electing ignorant POS to federal office has consequences.

[Crowman2009]

10. They might want to start by not re-electing that dumb SOB Tommy Potatoville.

[Ferrets are Cool]

12. "questioning whether their city was passed over for political reasons beyond their control. "

DON'T FUCKING VOTE FOR ASSWIPES, YOU FUCKING IDIOTS.

[Tarzanrock]

15. Next, move Ft. Knox out of Kentucky

Next, move Ft. Knox out of Kentucky to California.

[DFW]

33. Kentucky at least elected a competent Democratic governor. n/t

Last edited Sun Aug 6, 2023, 09:51 AM - Edit history (1)

[mountain grammy]

39. I wish there were 100 Andy Beshears.

[paleotn]

41. +1000

[DFW]

43. If I could pick which states

I’d settle for 25 of them

[roomtomove]

18. Hunstville still has the

US Army Corps of Engineers Engineering and Support Center, so they won't be suffering. There will be no loss of job

[padah513]

22. No loss of jobs yes, but no massive increase of jobs either

[dlk]

23. "Beyond their control" is a lie

They knew who Tuberville was when they voted for him but are now unhappy they have
to deal with the consequences.

[doc03]

25. What does the space command do? The way I see it

it is just another bottomless pit to throw our tax dollars in.

[Ptah]

38. United States Space Command:

The United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and greater above mean sea level. U.S. Space Command is responsible for the operational employment of space forces that are provided by the uniformed services of the Department of Defense.[8]

Space Command was originally created in September 1985 to provide joint command and control for all military forces in outer space and coordinate with the other combatant commands. SPACECOM was disestablished in 2002, and its responsibilities and forces were merged into United States Strategic Command.[9] It was reestablished on 29 August 2019, with a reemphasized focus on space as a warfighting domain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_Command

[doc03]

44. Sounds like the Air Force could do that without creating

another multi-billion dollar branch of the military.

[Farmer-Rick]

26. Sooooo, Tuberville lost out. A problem of his own making.

"But some political observers saw the choice of a Democratic-controlled state both as a rejection of the hard-line conservatism in Alabama and a repudiation of its senior Republican senator, Tommy Tuberville, who has blocked hundreds of military promotions over a Pentagon policy that reimburses military personnel who travel to obtain an abortion or fertility care."

"Though Alabama has been plagued by high rates of poverty and maternal mortality, struggling schools and a legacy of racism and disenfranchisement, advocates for the northern part of the state, which includes Huntsville, say the region has worked to insulate itself from those trends.". A little too little too late

Sounds like Alabama needs more than just one spot of of purplish blue. Huntsville still sound very conservative. Not a good place for a bunch of scientists, who frequently base their lives on facts not religious dogma, to come live in.

[niyad]

31. Hey, Huntsville, how about working to make your entire state better, not just

your little outpost.

[Augiedog]

27. Elections have consequences! You chose, sometimes you lose biggly

[niyad]

30. One cannot "lose" something one never had in the first place.

[DFW]

34. Beyond the control of Alabama's Democrats, anyway

If the majority of Alabama’s voters prefer an ignorant, half-literate football coach to a competent legislator for the sole reason that he had an R before his name, then the whole state suffers the consequences.

[Blue Owl]

35. Is this a pity piece by guest columnist Tommy Tubbyville?

[azureblue]

36. Biden's reason

for not moving is logical, Tuber not withstanding. Why spend billions, and risk a glitch in the transition, when the system works in CO? This part has nothing to do with Tuber.
But
The installation at Huntsville is still viable for other reasons, like space exploration, and it could be expanded into other areas.
But
Tuber done screwed that one up with his throw down, and I think the people in Huntsville know that. While I doubt Biden would play the political favor game, for sure, if he know she has to work with an asshole, he is more likely to avoid working with him. Congrats Tuber - you brought this one on yourself.

[PJMcK]

42. The Space Command is a 21st century force

Alabama is still living in the 19th century.

Colorado is a modern state.

The decision seems simple enough.

[Wild blueberry]

45. Ms Davis, direct your thoughts to Tuberville

Fuck around and find out.

[LenaBaby61]

47. REALLY, REALLY THIS 👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻

[Martin68]

48. The city was initially chosen for political reasons beyond our control. Biden has restored order and

sanity to government.