Space Command Puts 2-Star in Charge of New Office to Oversee HQ Move

U.S. Space Command has established a program management office, headed by a two-star Army general, to lead the transition of its headquarters from Colorado to Alabama. 

Maj. Gen. Terry Grisham, a member of the Alabama National Guard, will oversee the command’s transition, SPACECOM said in a Jan. 29 statement. Col. Raymond Ruscoe, previously the director of SPACECOM’s European Command Joint Integrated Service Team, will serve as the office’s deputy director.

“In addition to managing the requirements for military construction and infrastructure, being on-ground full time will facilitate greater engagement with local and state leaders,” the command said. 

The location of Space Command’s headquarters has been in contention since it was re-established in 2019. During President Donald Trump’s first term, the Defense Department established a provisional headquarters for the command in Colorado Springs, Colo. In 2021, the White House selected Huntsville, Ala., as the permanent home. Two years later, former President Joe Biden reversed the decision, which Trump then dismissed last September, announcing in an Oval Office briefing that the headquarters would head to Alabama as previously planned.

Since then, Space Command officials have been working to lay the groundwork for the transition to Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal. In November, they announced the creation of an internal planning team, Task Force Voyager, to coordinate logistics for the effort. The following month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Huntsville and unveiled a sign for the new headquarters.

In a video posted from Space Command’s X account, Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting said he and Grisham toured the headquarters offices on Jan. 29. The command hasn’t confirmed how many personnel are currently operating from the new location, though Whiting said Grisham is the first. 

Meanwhile, Colorado’s attorney general in filed a lawsuit in October to block SPACECOM’s move, claiming Trump’s decision was motivated by politics. The complaint alleges the relocation is “retaliation” for the state’s mail-in voting laws, which Trump referenced multiple times in the briefing announcing his decision. 

“When the state is for mail-in voting, that means they want dishonest elections,” Trump said at the time. “That played a big factor.”

The suit calls for a stop-work order on all efforts to transition the headquarter, but to date, the Colorado District Court judge overseeing the case has not directed a pause.