Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, El Paso County Commissioner Stan VanderWerf, and Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC Vice President of Defense Development Jessie Kimber today released the following statements in response to the announcement that U.S. Space Command headquarters will remain in Colorado Springs.
Mayor Yemi Mobolade, City of Colorado Springs
Today’s announcement is an affirmation of what we already know. Colorado Springs is the home of space. Our City is now proud to be the permanent home of U.S. Space Command, and we are committed to its long-term success. It is clear this final decision is in the best interest of our national security and is the most responsible use of taxpayer dollars. I want to express our thanks to President Biden, and to our Colorado military delegation – Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, Congressmen Doug Lamborn and Jason Crow, Governor Jared Polis, our El Paso County Commissioners, the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC and our defense industry leadership, along with former Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers – who joined together and advocated to keep this mission in our community. Today marks the beginning of the next chapter of our city’s long and proud military history and Colorado Springs will continue to rally around and support our service members, veterans, and their families.
Stan VanderWerf, El Paso County Commissioner
I am absolutely thrilled with the decision to keep U.S. Space Command in its home in Colorado Springs. I am also pleased that the decision-makers recognized that keeping U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs is best for our nation's taxpayers and security. This success is the result of the hard work of many organizations, elected officials, and staff members. I’d like to thank the entire Colorado delegation including Congress Doug Lamborn and Senators Bennett and Hickenlooper as well as the City of Colorado Springs, El Paso County Team and the Chamber and EDC for their hard work and collaboration.
Jessie Kimber, Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC Vice President of Defense Development
As the epicenter of military space, Colorado Springs is thrilled to be named the permanent location of USSPACECOM, ending a multi-year selection process, and resulting in the best decision for national security as our country faces growing security threats from China, Russia, and other nations determined to challenge us in the space domain. As the current provisional home to USSPACECOM, Colorado Springs is the natural choice for its permanent basing with robust infrastructure in place and personnel already living in our community contributing to our region’s existing military space operations and rapidly expanding defense, space, aerospace, and cyber security industries. We are grateful for the many partners across Colorado who worked tirelessly in support of the campaign to secure the permanent basing and advocate the importance of keeping USSPACECOM in Colorado Springs and we look forward to continuing our role in supporting our country’s mission in space. We want to recognize the other regions that were working toward this same goal and acknowledge their devoted efforts in support of the Space Command mission throughout this process. We share the same passion, and the Colorado Springs region will work tirelessly with USSPACECOM to protect our skies now and well into the future.