Alabama and the Air Force: With Space Command, Huntsville enters fray Mobile faced 10 years ago – AL.com

Accusations of swampy politics that pit a red state against a blue state. Calls for an investigation. The U.S. Air Forces involvement. Thousands of jobs on the line, and decades economic development that can transform a city and state.

For Huntsville and Mobile, the two Alabama cities share in a similar experience about a decade apart when it comes to high-profile military decisions.

Huntsville currently stands out as the winner in a high-stakes, multi-state competition for landing U.S. Space Command and its 1,400-person headquarters responsible for the nations military operations in outer space. The January 13 decision by the outgoing Trump administration places the coveted military base at Redstone Arsenal. It has also left Colorado politicians crying foul, prompting calls of the new Biden administration to consider a do-over.

Jet tanker

A decade ago Mobile was engulfed in its own high stakes battle - for the then-coveted Air Force jet tanker contract. At the time, it was viewed as the most lucrative contract in Air Force history, and it pitted aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus against each other. Mobile and its partners -- Northrop Grumman Corp. and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., the parent company of Airbus at the time -- were initially viewed as the winner of a $40 billion contract to build the sleek fighter jets in 2008. Two years later, the criteria from the Air Force changed, Northrop dropped out and Boeing was awarded the contract. The state of Washington, home to the Boeings manufacturing operations, celebrated while Mobile grumbled.

In Huntsvilles case, the Air Force claims Redstone is a superior site to that of its competitors based on key criteria analyzed by the military. In Mobile, back in 2011, the Air Force decided that Boeings criteria to build the KC-30 to replace its aging fleet, better suited their needs.

Alabama blamed the Obama administration for losing out on the tanker contract. Ten years later, Colorado public officials and Democrats elsewhere are calling on an investigation of the Trump administrations involvement in Alabamas victory in securing Space Command.

Politics is a funny business, said George Talbot, who was the political editor at the Mobile Press-Register during the tanker contract discussions and debates that began in the mid-2000s and ended in 2011. Sometimes the answer is just what it is (Boeing) was the best proposal with the tanker. They still dont have an airplane. Thats a consequence, so there are real consequences all around for the communities.

He added, It says the important thing for the people who are charged with the decisions, they make the best decisions they can and not because who is in office or who isnt. Thats played into Space Command.

Americas defense

President Donald Trump arrives at arrives at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., Thursday, May 30, 2019, to attend the 2019 United States Air Force Academy Graduation Ceremony. The Colorado Springs base wound up on the short-end of the Space Command headquarter competition after the Trump administration announced Huntsville, Ala., as the future site for the military base on January 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)AP

With the Space Command decision, Colorado politicians have been left incensed, and Democratic lawmakers calling for investigations on Capitol Hill. A pair of House Democrats U.S. Rep. John Garamendi of California and Jim Cooper of Tennessee want Defense Department Inspector General Sean ODonnell to investigate how Trump might have influenced the Space Command decision.

In Colorado, its both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who are blasting the decision to relocate Space Command to Alabama. Though other states were bidding on the Space Command base, the stakes were especially high in Colorado. Space Command was reestablished in 2019 in Colorado Springs, which currently houses the 1,400-troop unit at Peterson Air Force Base. The base was effectively renamed Peterson Space Force last year.

Republican Colorado U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn called the decision horrendous and one that will materially damage our national security. Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis called the decision misguided and one that could cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

Colorado, once firmly a red state, flipped to blue during the 2008 presidential election. It backed Biden over Trump by 13.5 points during the November 3 election.

Alabama, by contrast, is among the reddest states in the country. Voters backed Trump by 25.4 points.

The criticism about the Space Command decision isnt just in Colorado, where Peterson was viewed as the early favorite in the selection process. In New Mexico, which backed Biden by 10.8 points and has an Air Force base that was also a finalist for the headquarters, officials are decrying presidential politics and questioning the integrity of the process.

In Republican states, the criticism directed at the former administration is somewhat muted. Republican leaders in Florida and Nebraska two states with military bases that were also in the hunt for the Space Command headquarters are not calling out the Trump administration. In Nebraska, which backed Trump by 19 points, Gov. Pete Ricketts said in a statement that the state will simply make its case to the Biden administration and did not blame the former president for engaging in political mischief.

Florida, home to Space Coast the nations busiest space operations that includes Cape Canaverals iconic Space Force Station was also in the running. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump ally, did not release a public statement regarding the decision.

Trump, himself, did not visit Huntsville on January 13, and has not publicly touted the Air Forces decision to bring a coveted initiative of his administration to Alabama. Trump revived Space Command from its 17-year hiatus tasked with administering national security operations in space. Its not to be confused with Space Force, which was the sixth military branch that Trump created in late 2019. But Space Force, and even Space Commands future, remains murky in a Biden administration.

For now, Alabama officials are touting Redstone Arsenals appeal for the future of Space Command.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said hes falling back on the Air Forces announcement earlier this month, which claims that Redstone Arsenal has a ready-made location for Space Command and highly qualified workforce. The low costs of living and housing availability off-base were also pointed out as advantages for the Huntsville site, according to published reports.

They said they did it on merit and after a two-year study of the areas that were the finalists, I think they dotted their Is and crossed their ts very well, said Battle. We hope that politics do not enter into this. This is about Americas defense.

Battle said hes not seen the Air Forces official reports that analyzed the criteria of each finalist, and there is clamoring for the military to disclose how they came to determine Redstone Arsenal as the preferred choice.

Related content: Air Force says facts, not politics favored Alabama in Space Command HQ decision

Incoming Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a Mobile native who was confirmed as the nations first black defense secretary, told Congress that he will examine how the Space Command decision was made.

An Air Force spokesperson, in an email to AL.com, said the agency is working on requests to gather the information that will disclose the details over its selection criteria. Redstone was chosen, according to the Air Force, based on factors related to its mission, infrastructure capacity, community support and the costs to the Department of Defense.

Its our understanding that Huntsville was, in fact, the recommendation of the Air Force and for good reason, said Blair Taylor, spokeswoman for Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama. Huntsville also known as Rocket City provides the Air Force a long list of advantages: a qualified workforce, installation capacity, significant costs savings, close proximity to supporting space assets and a vast industrial expertise.

She added, We feel confident this decision was merit-based and in the interest of national security.

Always politics involved

In this Feb. 29, 2008 file photo, from left, Boeing union workers David Henry of Puyallup, Wash., Sandy Hastings of Everett, Wash., James William and Charlie Grieser of Mukilteo, Wash., protest the U.S. Air Force's decision to award a fuel tanker contract to Airbus-Northrop Grumman at the Aerospace Machinists Union in Everett, Wash. Boeing contested the decision and ultimately won the tanker contract in 2011. One year later, in 2012, Airbus announced intentions to build a manufacturing plant in Mobile, Ala. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear, file)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Battle calls the comparisons between the Air Forces Space Command decision in Huntsville and the 2011 tanker contract decision as apples and oranges.

Indeed, there are significant differences between the two: Space Command is a military basing decision, while the tanker contract includes requests for proposals in which those requests can be challenged after they are submitted.

In Mobile, the situation in Huntsville is bringing back memories of the setbacks in 2010 and 2011 that unknown at that time -- would lead to a major economic development victory in 2012, when Airbus announced it was building its North American manufacturing hub in Mobile.

But from 2009-2011, the battle with Boeing and its Buy American pitch was fierce and proved too much for Mobile and its European partner to overcome.

Presidential politics, like Huntsville today, served as a backdrop. Then-Arizona Senator John McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was a vocal Boeing critic in Congress. Boeing, which won the $40 million contract in February 2011, has its headquarters based in Chicago, which is also the hometown of President Barack Obama.

There was a belief that because Obama is from Chicago and Boeings headquarters are in Chicago, that Obama would put it there, said Talbot, who now works as director of governmental relations with Volkert, Inc. It was interesting during the McCain-Obama race, there were perceptions that one would align with Boeing and another would align with Airbus. But there was never evidence to suggest that either got involved (in the Air Forces decision).

State Rep. Sam Jones, D-Mobile, who was Mobiles mayor from 2005-2013, said there is no knowledge of politics influencing the switched-up criteria for the tanker contract between 2008 and 2010.

EADS and Northrop Grumman beat Boeing in 2008, to seemingly win the contract to build the KC-30 tankers inside a $600 million plant in Mobile. The decision was challenged, and the Air Force revised its selection criteria that seemingly favored Boeings planes. Northrop Grumman did not submit an altered bid in 2010, decrying the changes in the selection criteria and questioning the Pentagons fairness of the competition. One year later, the Air Force selected Boeing over EADS.

We dont know the politics of it, said Jones. It happened within the Air Force. They changed the specs and made it a lot more favorable to Boeing. That is why Northrop Grumman dropped out as a partner with EADS. And because of the way it was favored toward Boeing, they go the contract.

He added, I dont think it was politics between one (presidential) administration to the next. It was within the Defense Department. The Air Force changed the specs.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley along with local officials react to the Air Force's decision to award the aerial refueling tanker contract to Boeing during a press conference at the Mobile Convention Center Thursday Feb. 24, 2011 in Mobile, Ala. EADS, the losing bidder in the competition, would have assembled their tanker in Mobile had they won the contract. Ten years later, Mobile turned the corner with its partnership with Airbus to build commercial jets at the Brookley Aeroplex. (file photo)

Former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, who first took office around the time the tanker contract was awarded to Boeing, said he believes politics did play a role in the decision.

Anything that has to do with the federal government, there is always politics involved, said Bentley, a Republican. Im sure there are politics involved (with the Space Command decision). That was true with the tanker project.

Despite the tanker contract loss, Mobile wound up a winner: Airbus built a $600 million plant to build the A320-series of commercial jets, opening in 2015. The company, with over 1,000 employees in Mobile, is currently producing 40 of the single-aisle A320-series of aircraft per month. The company also produces the A220-series in Mobile.

That absolutely worked out better for Mobile, said Talbot, who served on current Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpsons administration as executive director of communications and external affairs from 2013-2020. One door closes, and another opens. Youre now in the commercial market and youre not dependent on a defense budget and the political process. Youre just trying to build the best airplanes you can. Its a much better outcome for Mobile and we really had to earn our way to do it.

Said Jones, We maintained a relationship with EADS and we maintained a relationship with (former Airbus CEO) Tom Enders. He always like Mobile. (Airbus) liked Mobile. Thats how we wound up with the project.

Boeing and Airbus remain in a fierce competition for worldwide market dominance in the aerospace industry, though Bentley rightly notes that Boeing has a large presence in Alabama: The firm has approximately 3,000 employees in Huntsville.

Everything has worked out well with both companies here, said Bentley. (Boeing) has always been a good partner.

Meanwhile, the tanker contract that slipped through Mobiles hands remains in a state of disarray for Boeing, dogged by productions delays and design problems. Boeing delivered its first KC-46 Pegasus tanker to the Air Force in 2019 and intends to produce 179 by 2027.

The contract has become an albatross to Boeing because of the production delays and the ongoing problems in delivering those planes, said Talbot. Some say there is a chance Mobile could still build tankers. You know never know where Mobile can go. Who knows? Maybe one day.

Original post:
Alabama and the Air Force: With Space Command, Huntsville enters fray Mobile faced 10 years ago - AL.com