Space Command is fully operational, if still officially homeless – By Audrey Decker (Defense One) / Dec 15, 2023
Lawmakers are delaying the HQ decision in the 2024 defense policy bill.
The Pentagon’s newest warfighting command has achieved full operational capability, despite continued wrangling over where to put a permanent headquarters for U.S. Space Command.
“Since its establishment in 2019, USSPACECOM has been singularly focused on delivering exquisite capability to the joint force to deter conflict, defend our vital interests, and, if necessary, defeat aggression. Thanks to the disciplined initiative of our people and the support of our joint, combined and partnered team, I can confidently say we have reached full operational capability,” Gen. James Dickinson, head of SPACECOM, said in a statement Friday.
The Pentagon uses “full operational capability” to describe an organization that has proved, through tests and real-world scenarios, it can accomplish all aspects of its missions.
Space Command, which has called Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado home ever since its formation during the Trump administration, has been tangled in a years-long, highly political debate over its potential move to Alabama.
