By Troy Turner
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — The Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corporation, southern Colorado’s largest business organization, announced plans to file an Amicus Brief opposing a lawsuit brought by the Colorado attorney general regarding U.S. Space Command, the chamber announced.
Local leaders here say the lawsuit “was neither requested nor supported by the region and does not serve America’s national security interests.”
The move comes as many in Colorado, a state heavily tied to U.S. military and commercial space interests, look to move on after losing a fierce campaign to host U.S. Space Command Headquarters, which will be moving from its initial temporary location in Colorado Springs to its permanent home in Huntsville, Alabama.
“We didn’t ask for it. We don’t want it,” business leaders referring to the lawsuit said in an op-ed published by The Colorado Springs Gazette. “The lawsuit weakens our position to compete for future military opportunities and threatens the continued success that has made us a leading center for military and aerospace and defense innovation.”
The headquarters transition will bring to Alabama hundreds of military personnel and provide hundreds more civilian jobs once established in Huntsville. It also adds immeasurable clout to the state’s space and missile defense industries.
President Trump announced on Sept. 2, 2025, the headquarters relocation to Alabama of Space Command, or SPACECOM, which is one of the U.S. military’s 11 unified combatant commands.
Colorado’s lawsuit
Both Alabama and Colorado have strong and thriving space and missile defense industries and military presence.
However, studies by the Air Force and other government agencies determined Huntsville should be the preferred location, based in part on a much lower cost-of-living for personnel, available property for new development on the sprawling and secure Redstone Arsenal, and the surrounding support of the well-established space and missile defense community.
Earlier estimates said the transition could take five years to complete, but Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in a recent ceremony that he and Trump already had made clear to all concerned parties that they want the move expedited, while SPACECOM remains steadfast in its ongoing mission.
Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, with Alabama congressional leaders during a SPACECOM ceremony in Huntsville.
The Colorado lawsuit was a last-ditch effort by state leaders there to halt the transition while further review of the move determined if it is legal and best for American security, claiming that Trump’s decision was more political than militarily strategic.
More recently, however, Colorado officials have indicated confidence that despite the SPACECOM HQ move, there will remain a strong presence of Space Command and space-related research and development in the state, and thus the statement last week by Colorado Springs business leaders.
SPACECOM commander in Alabama
Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of SPACECOM, already has led a noticeable effort of establishing close ties with the Huntsville community, its industry leaders, and with Alabama government leaders.
Whiting, though, carefully has avoided the political back-and-forth by showing support for personnel in both states critical to the SPACECOM mission and by following the direction given him by the commander in chief.
During a conversation with AlaDefense.com in Alabama, Whiting said regarding Colorado’s lawsuit, “that’s for the state of Colorado to deal with,” clarifying that in his role, “We’ve been given direction from the president, and that’s what we’re going to implement.”
Gen. Stephen Whiting
“There are 1,300 people on my staff. There are others who will likely come with us, but I don’t want to talk about those numbers until other organizations make decisions,” he said. “But we’re excited to be coming this way.
“It’ll be individual decisions. It is our responsibility to educate them about what’s available here in Alabama. Certainly, military people will follow orders,” Whiting said, but “government civilians get choices, so we’ll want to make sure they’ll have all the information that is available.”
Colorado’s support of the mission
Looking to move forward and maintain a close working relationship with U.S. Space Command and the military space structure, Colorado Springs business leaders warned that continued litigation over its headquarters relocation risks mission readiness, disrupts military families, and injects politics into decisions that should remain under federal authority.
“Space dominance is non-negotiable for America’s security,” said Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, president & CEO of the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC, in a Chamber press statement. “This Amicus Brief is a clear stance on our region’s commitment to mission readiness and strategic innovation over politics, because protecting the nation is bigger than any headquarters debate.
“Prolonging uncertainty through litigation puts national security at risk and military families in limbo, and we will not stay silent when that happens.”
Rather than focusing on litigation, the region is committed to building strong partnerships with the federal administration to ensure America’s space and defense capabilities remain ready and modernized for the future, the organization said.
“The nation’s competitors are foreign adversaries, not fellow states,” it said. “The region is committed to working collaboratively with federal partners and defense communities across the country, including Alabama, to maintain the strongest possible posture against threats from foreign adversaries.”
(Department of Defense photo by Joshua Armstrong)
The Colorado Springs-El Paso County region hosts U.S. Northern Command, North American Aerospace and Defense Command (NORAD), U.S. Space Force, and five of Colorado’s six military installations, alongside more than 150 aerospace and defense companies involved with critical national security missions.
“While debate over U.S. Space Command’s headquarters continues, the Amicus Brief makes one point clear: Colorado Springs and El Paso County is focused on the future, not on lawsuits,” their statement says. “The region is committed to advancing new mission sets and strengthening America’s defense; and urge the Colorado attorney general to join in prioritizing collaboration over litigation.”
The entire statement by The Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corporation can be found here.
The lawsuit filed by Colorado can be found here.
Troy Turner is the editor-in-chief and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. His bio can be found here.
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