On the ground with Spacecom at Redstone Arsenal

Dirt is moving at Redstone Arsenal.

Why it matters: U.S. Space Command has an aggressive schedule to get under one roof at Redstone, and gave media a behind-the-scenes look at what's already in place yesterday.

Catch up quick: Leading media through the two buildings and one construction site Spacecom is occupying on base, Col. Raymond Ruscoe, deputy director of the Redstone Transition Team, stressed the speed at which the project is moving.

• Joey Skinner, director of public works for the U.S. Army Garrison, said the project is being constructed in less than half the time it would normally take, thanks to in-house capabilities for design, construction, maintenance and more.
• It will be the first purpose-built all-in-one facility for Space Command since it was originally stood up in 1985, Ruscoe said, noting that that first iteration of Spacecom went through 2002, before it was reestablished in 2019.

By the numbers: Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting said 113 personnel are already on site, with 200 expected by the end of the year.

• Personnel moves will really ramp up in 2027, with about 700 additional personnel set to move to Huntsville next year with the goal of half of the roughly 1,800 total on site by 2028.

What they're saying: "We have been moving with speed and with enthusiasm to get established," Whiting told reporters on the site of Spacecom's under-construction logistics facility, across the street from the 64-acre site of its future headquarters.

• Other work is evident on the arsenal too, including a wide swath of land Ruscoe said has been cleared by the Alabama National Guard in preparation for utilities.

The bottom line: "They say you can't go home again, but every time I come back here I'm convinced that's not true," Whiting said during his SMD address.

• "Of course, this place also feels a little more like home every time I visit because U.S. Space Command is making it our new home, bit by bit."