Alabama National Guard general to manage Space Command headquarters transition

WASHINGTON — A senior Alabama National Guard officer has been tapped to oversee one of the Pentagon’s most closely watched basing shifts, as U.S. Space Command prepares to relocate its headquarters from Colorado to Alabama.

Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, said Jan. 29 that Maj. Gen. Terry Grisham will serve as transition team director for the move from Colorado Springs to Huntsville. Grisham, a two-star general in the Alabama National Guard, will manage the logistics and coordination required to shift the command’s headquarters while operations continue.

Grisham was named last year assistant deputy commander for National Guard affairs at U.S. Army Materiel Command. Whiting cited both Grisham’s professional background and his local connections in explaining the decision.

“This experience – paired with his deep ties to the surrounding community – will prove invaluable” in leading the relocation, Whiting said in a statement.

Whiting visited Huntsville on Jan. 28, touring facilities at Redstone Arsenal, where the new headquarters is expected to be located. Redstone already hosts a dense concentration of Army and Missile Defense Agency units and has been a focal point of Alabama’s long-running campaign to secure the Space Command headquarters.

Speaking with reporters Jan. 28 at the SpaceCom conference in Orlando, Florida, Whiting said it was critical to have a senior leader based in Alabama overseeing the transition on a full-time basis.

“We’ve been given clear direction from the President and the Secretary of War that we’re moving to Huntsville, and the opportunity for U.S. Space Command is that we will get a purpose built headquarters to execute our war fighting missions from,” Whiting said. “It’s our job, certainly at US Space Command, to continue our vital missions while we do this transition.”

Relocation could take years

The relocation follows President Donald Trump’s Sept. 2 announcement that Space Command would move to Alabama, reversing a 2023 decision by President Biden to keep the headquarters in Colorado. 

Space Command, one of the military’s unified combatant commands, is responsible for planning and executing space operations, including missile warning, satellite defense and support to combat forces worldwide. While its operational elements are spread across multiple locations, the headquarters houses senior leadership and planning staff, making its location economically and politically significant.

The transition is expected to take years, with personnel moving in phases as new facilities are constructed. Defense officials have said Space Command will continue operating from Colorado Springs during the interim, a factor that has tempered immediate workforce impacts but prolonged uncertainty for military and civilian employees.