Dear Secretary Wilson, Gen. Goldfein and Gen. Raymond, recently Gov. Kay Ivey flawlessly welcomed and highly exceptionally hosted Vice President Mike Pence and the National Space Council to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Madam Secretary, congratulations on your unanimous selection as the next president of University of Texas at El Paso. Thank you all for making us very proud, with your highly outstanding leadership, by ensuring that our Air Force, is the most lethal in the world, while maintaining overwhelming air dominance and unarguable space superiority.
We are hearing rumblings that the U. S. Space Command is looking to stand up its mission, and that our country’s newest military space organization headquarters may be looking for a home. It is rumored that four bases in Colorado, one base in California and one base in Alabama, are being considered.
Alabamians want to respectfully ask you a big favor. Please send the U.S. Space Command Headquarters to our great state, due to the following reasons.
Gov. Ivey was recently nominated by Sen. Richard Shelby and appointed by Vice President Pence, to the National Space Council’s Users Advisory Group. The mission of this distinguished group is to advise and inform the National Space Council on a broad range of aerospace topics, including the impacts of U.S. and international laws and regulations, national security space priorities relating to the civil and commercial space sectors, scientific and human space exploration priorities, and ways to bolster support for U.S. space priorities and leadership in space.
“The President has directed us to relaunch the National Space Council’s advisory group to foster close coordination, cooperation, and technology information. This group will bring together a broad range of truly exceptional Americans, men and women who are committed to advancing and renewing American leadership in space,” Vice President Pence, recently said.
In Ivey’s recent column, Space and Alabama go hand-in-hand, she stated,” the past, present and future of American space leadership flows through Alabama.”
Current top aerospace and space exploration industries are located in our state such as the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Airbus in Mobile, Blue Origin in Huntsville and United Launch Alliance in Decatur.
If you are seeking a state that has consistently provided outstanding and superb results with space, science, human space flight, space transportation, unmanned launches, satellites, space probes, communications, reconnaissance, intelligence, mapping and missile defense, Alabama wants your business.
According to numerous sources, as of 2019, only one country has an independent space force, China. In 2016 the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Strategic Support Force was established to consolidate space and cyber operations.
To continue to meet three of her top agenda items, attracting business and industry, economic development and job growth; Ivey traveled abroad to bring new jobs and create more opportunities for the citizenry, so they will remain in our great state.
Gov. Ivey has made her directive very clear to her staff and cabinet that the door is always open and Alabama is always ready to do business in creating and gaining high quality jobs.
According to polls, Ivey is the third most popular and respected governor in the United States. We respectfully disagree with the polls. Our governor is number one. Due to the high level of trust and respect of Ivey and her prudent decision making, numerous great things have been happening in our state with her at the steering wheel.
Vice President Pence mentioned in his comments about bringing together truly exceptional men and women who are committed to advancing and renewing American leadership in Space. We are just following orders of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
Respectfully, a lot of top-notch and highly outstanding military leadership officials that our country need assigned to the U.S. Space Command headquarters, are currently located in Montgomery and Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, or they were recently stationed in our city.
I highly recommend the following distinguished persons to be given the opportunity to make U.S. Space Command history; and become our first and high-level leaders to build the new U.S. Space Command. We want the ball in these trusted leaders’ hands.
The list includes Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, commander, Air Education and Training Command, Lt. Gen. Anthony Cotton, president and commander of Air University, Army MGen. Sheryl Gordon, Adjutant General of the Alabama National Guard, BGen, Randy Efferson, Alabama ANG, chief of staff, Col. Patrick Carley, commander 42nd ABW and Col. William Sparrow, commander, 187th Fighter Wing, ANG.
They all have the skills, knowledge and abilities to build the best U.S. Space Command within and outside our planet earth. Just want to respectfully ask another small favor; please promote them all to their next higher grades. That’s how much we love them.
Respectfully, highly recommended to be Invited- retiree team leader panels should include Gen. Tony McPeak, Lt. Gen. Bradley Hosmer and MGen. Alfred Flowers, to provide expertise and corporate knowledge on how aerospace and military space exploration has progressed since its’ beginning until today. Additionally, these distinguished wingmen could help provide the blue print for chain of command and line of authority throughout the globe concerning the new military space programs.
The top reason they were recommended, we all know them, and they will do what is best for our country. Their Air Force core values have never wavered.
These active duty military members and retirees have all demonstrated their commitment and they have provided positive foot prints when representing our military services in their communities around the globe. They have been in our local communities; and they have been participating to make our world better. All persons mentioned in this column are America’s best.
I can see the new Space Command Team looking at the current ten U.S. major centers that include research, space, space flight, space launch, facilities and field centers.
I’m sure they will discuss the line of authority and chain of command. Will there be space major commands, numbered space forces, space divisions, space operational commands, space wings, space groups and space squadrons?
They may ask, how will the Space Command National Guard and Space Command Reserves merge with the Active Duty Space Command?
What will our international partnership structures look like in Europe, Asia and Russia concerning the International Space Station?
How about the Office of International and Interagency Relations, foreign liaison offices?
In closing, Gov. Ivey has informed the world that Alabama is open for business. Please send the U.S. Space Command to Alabama. Regardless, if the new location may be at Redstone Arsenal or possibly Maxwell-Gunter, our state is waiting for our potential new neighbors. As governor Ivey stated, Space and Alabama go hand-in hand.
Glenn Henry is retired from the U.S. Air Force. He has been a high school teacher and university adjunct professor. He has earned numerous Cisco IT certifications. He is a Certified Professional Ethical Hacker. He lives in Montgomery with his wife Teresa.
