U.S. Space Command is reportedly offering hefty bonuses to civilian employees if they agree to relocate from Colorado Springs to the command’s future home in Huntsville, Alabama.
The news, reported by Air & Space Forces Magazine and confirmed by other outlets, came from command head Gen. Stephen Whiting during a discussion with reporters at the Air & Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium in Aurora in late February.
“We are trying to do everything we can to incentivize our workforce,” Whiting told reporters.
President Donald Trump ordered the command’s move to Huntsville last September, after years of back-and-forth wrangling between the two locations. The command has been operating from Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs since Trump revived it in 2019. It achieved full operational capacity there in late 2023.
A key part of the argument Colorado’s elected leaders gave for keeping the command at Peterson was the assertion that civilian employees would not want to move to Alabama, preferring Colorado’s quality of life.
Whiting told reporters that about 1,400 jobs are expected to make the move to Huntsville. That’s a higher figure than the 1,000 jobs Colorado Republicans were told in September. Space Command’s total workforce is about 1,700 personnel, both military and civilian.
Retention bonuses paid to civilians who commit to the Alabama move will be paid over several years, according to Whiting. Moving expenses will also be covered, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. It’s unclear how much the bonuses will be.
U.S. Space Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- El Paso County, Colorado Springs officials oppose state lawsuit challenging Space Command move, file amicus brief
- Colorado sues Trump Administration over Space Command move
- With Space Command moving, Colorado Republicans tout other military investments in the state
- Space Command to leave Colorado Springs, move to Alabama
