The Ohio House of Representatives passed a Republican-backed concurrent resolution to urge the federal government to officially name Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, as the permanent location for the U.S. Space Command headquarters.
The Ohio House Passed House Concurrent Resolution 8 by a 90-2 vote advancing the resolution to the Ohio Senate for its review.
According to resolution co-sponsor State Representative Thomas Patton (R-Strongsville), Ohio has a rich history in aviation and aerospace history.
“Ohio is proud to be known as the ‘birthplace of aviation’ considering that Ohio-born, Wilbur and Orville Wright invented and flew the world’s very first powered airplane in 1903. Not only are we the birthplace and state of aviation, but we are the home of aerospace pioneers. Ohio has been the home for 26 astronauts, who in total, have logged more than 22,000 hours in space,” Patton said.
The resolution says that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is the premier air base in the United States. Wright-Patt is one of the largest and most impressive Air Force bases in the country, with over 30,000 individuals employed on base, including military members, government workers, and civilian employees, and has an overall economic impact of $4.2 billion annually on the state of Ohio.
According to resolution co-sponsor State Representative Brian Lampton (R-Beavercreek), Ohio continues to lead the nation in aviation and aerospace innovation and would be a great home to the Space Command Headquarters.
“Wright Patterson Air Force Base is a cornerstone of my district and the state of Ohio. It is no question that Wright Patterson sets the tone for aviation and aerospace innovation and workforce development in our state and country,” Lampton said.
The legislation’s passage follows a bipartisan group of Ohio U.S. lawmakers who sent a letter to President Joe Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, and Chief of Space Operations General B. Chance Saltzman earlier this month also urging the federal government to select Wright-Patterson as U.S. Space Command headquarters.
The letter, signed by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representatives Dave Joyce (R-OH-14), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09), Max Miller (R-OH-07), Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03), Shontel Brown (D-OH-11), Emilia Sykes (D-OH-34), and Greg Landsman (D-OH-01) said that the state’s unique facilities allow NASA, the Department of Defense, and other organizations to carry out specialized research and testing that “cannot be performed anywhere else in the world.”
According to cleveland.com, U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) didn’t sign the letter because, after consulting with officials within the Department of Defense, he said he doesn’t believe the state has a realistic possibility of obtaining the headquarters, citing the department’s internal decision-making process.
Former President Donald Trump established Space Command late in 2019; its interim headquarters are in Colorado Springs. In addition to its current location, military bases in Alabama, New Mexico, Nebraska, Texas, and Florida are vying to become its new permanent home.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine began Ohio’s campaign for the headquarters in a letter he submitted to former President Trump in September 2020, highlighting Ohio’s strong track record in populating science-rich jobs with a superior workforce.
Business organizations, including the Dayton Development Coalition, Ohio Southeast, the Columbus Partnership, REDI Cincinnati, Regional Growth Partnership Northwest Ohio, Team NEO, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce, the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Toledo Chamber of Commerce have also vocalized support for the move by sending their own letter to the federal government.
The Biden administration expects to make a final decision on relocating U.S. Space Command headquarters at some point this year.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command Workers” by U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
