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KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTOVandenberg Space Force Base is on a list of bases being considered for the permanent location for Space Training and Readiness Command.
Vandenberg Space Force Base is among the bases under consideration for the permanent location for the U.S. Space Training and Readiness Command.
The location list was announced Monday evening. On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, praised the inclusion of the Lompoc base.
“As I’ve made repeatedly clear to the Pentagon, the Central Coast is already home to the premiere West Coast launch site for military, civil, and commercial space operations, and currently is a cornerstone of our nation’s space training and operations,” Rep. Carbajal said in a statement. “In the search for a permanent location for Space Training and Readiness Command, Vandenberg has already demonstrated its ability to train space operators and serve a critical testing site.”He added that the base’s proximity to the nation’s best research institutions and aerospace industry makes it the best candidate for STARCOM.
“I’ve advocated for Vandenberg both because of the innovation it will foster in our own backyard, but also for the jobs and economic opportunities it will create for our communities,” said Rep. Carbajal, the vice chair of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.
In September, Rep. Carbajal joined Democratic California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla in expressing support for making Vandenberg Space Force Base the permanent location for the STARCOM. They wrote a letter to Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, stressing Vandenberg’s important role in space training and operations.
STARCOM is temporarily based at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo.
email: dmason@newspress.com
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