St. Clair County wants U.S. Space Command to build headquarters next to Scott AFB
St. Clair County wants to be the host site for the headquarters of the new U.S. Space Command on land that previously had been proposed for the $1.75 billion National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s western headquarters.
“After careful review of the screening and evaluation criteria, we believe our community meets all minimum eligibility requirements and would earn a competitive score when assessed against the evaluation criteria,” County Board Chairman Mark Kern said in a news release on Monday.
The site is next to Scott Air Force Base and officials touted it as a good place for the NGA site because of the security benefits of being next to a military base and the amount of land that the county owns adjacent to the base.
The proposed NGA site in St. Clair County was not selected and construction has started for this agency’s headquarters in St. Louis.
The site next to Scott Air Force Base would be “perfect” for the Space Command, Kern said Monday.
The county already owns the land next to Scott Air Force Base and the base’s security fence could be extended to include the Space Command inside the base, he said.
St. Clair County had offered to give 500 acres to the NGA and Kern said the county “would certainly look” at making the same offer to the Space Command once the county finds out the parameters sought by the agency.
“I imagine there aren’t too many places in the country where you have free land available next to an Air Force base,” Kern said.
“We fit all of the metrics that the Department of Defense is looking for so I think that given our workforce and the success that we’ve had hosting Scott Air Force Base that this site … will be the perfect site for Space Command,” Kern said.
U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, has facilitated the conversation between county, state and national leaders on the Space Command proposal.
Bost said he believes St. Clair County is the first to submit a proposal.
John W. Henderson, assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and energy, sent governors a letter in May stating that an estimated 1,400 military and civilian personnel would be stationed in the Space Command headquarters.
“We anticipate making a final selection for the preferred headquarters location in early 2021,” Henderson wrote.
Henderson asked that communities “self-nominate” their proposed sites by June 30.
Politics in defense decisions
Kern said it’s “very early” in the process, but one of the first required steps is obtaining the endorsement of Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The county has sent the governor a letter seeking his support, but has yet to receive a reply.
After talking with area elected officials, Kern said he’s “confident” that the governor will support the request to locate the Space Command in St. Clair County.
“We’re merely trying to become a part of the short list so the requirement was that we send a letter asking for the governor’s endorsement of the project,” he said.
But Pritzker’s rocky relationship with President Donald Trump during the coronavirus pandemic could play a role in the administration’s decision, Bost said.
If it weren’t for “politics,” the NGA would have called the metro-east home, Bost said.
“We’ve seen a lot of things that don’t happen because of politics,” Bost said. “That’s really why I believe it was that the NGA did not come into Scott. It had more to do with (President Barack Obama) wanting to put it in the inner city than anything else.”
Similar politics could sway the administration’s decision, but Bost hopes the largely GOP-controlled southern Illinois region could attract the president’s favor.
When asked about the county’s chances of landing the headquarters, Kern said, “We always are optimistic. We know we have a great relationship with Scott Air Force Base and we hope that that will move us along in this process.”
Scott Air Force Base is already home to the U.S. Transportation Command and several other military departments.
In the effort to land the U.S. Space Command, Kern said the county is working with a bipartisan group of officials including Bost and Democratic U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.
Kimberly Huth, who retired from the Air Force and is now the director of military affairs for St. Clair County, said the metro-east is a “military friendly community” that would welcome another component to Scott Air Force Base.
Huth serves as the liaison between Scott Air Force Base and the county.
“What is done at that Air Force base that affects the global logistics platform is amazing to me,” said Huth, who once served as an active duty member of the Air Force at the base and she also worked there as a contractor and civilian employee.
“I can’t think of a better location and the infrastructure is already here.”
Scott Air Force Base is the largest employer in southwestern Illinois and the base has an annual economic impact of over $3 billion, according to Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois.
About 13,000 military and civilian employees have worked on the base in recent years, officials have said.
Space Command requirements
Here are the three requirement potential sites must meet as outlined by Henderson:
▪ The location must be within a population base that is within the top 150 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States.
▪ The site must be located within 25 miles of a military base.
▪ The community must have a Livability Index score of 50 points out of 100 or higher as determined by the American Association of Retired Persons Public Policy Institute.
President Donald Trump re-established the U.S. Space Command last year.
The command is assigned to conduct operations “in, from and through space to deter conflict, and if necessary, defeat aggression,” according the agency’s website.
Spacenews.com reported that the United States had a Space Command from 1985 to 2002.
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 10:58 AM.
