Buckeye Reporter

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Ohio Mayors Alliance joined U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in calling on the Biden administration to choose Ohio’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) in Dayton as the headquarters for the U.S. Space Command and to locate additional U.S. Space Force units in Ohio in partnership with the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky. Earlier this week, ten Ohio economic development organizations and chambers of commerce joined Brown’s push to bring Space Command to Ohio. And earlier today, Brown spoke on the Senate Floor and called on the Biden Administration to take action.

Read the letter here:

Dear President Biden, Secretary Austin, Secretary Kendall, and General Saltzman:

As Ohioan, statesman, and space pioneer John Glenn once said, “[t]he most important thing we can do is inspire young minds and…advance the kind of science, math and technology education that will help youngsters take us to the next phase of space travel.” It is with a focus on inspiring young Ohioans and advancing our state’s next steps in fostering the kind of ingenuity, bravery, and public service John Glenn exemplifies that we write to you today to urge you to consider locating U.S. Space Command and its related space-based national security missions, operations, and units in Ohio.

Ohio’s extraordinary legacy in aviation, innovation, and ingenuity make it an ideal location for U.S. Space Command and the best location for U.S. Space Force Units. As a bipartisan coalition of mayors in Ohio’s 30 largest cities, we urge you to consider locating these installations in Ohio, especially given our existing capacity at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, NASA John H. Glenn Research Center, Lewis Field, and the Armstrong Test Facility. Each of our cities, our city residents, and the metropolitan regions we anchor will benefit immeasurably from locating the U.S. Space Force Command here in Ohio.

Wright Patterson Air Force Base, located in Greene County, Ohio, is already functioning as a point of contact for the U.S. Space Force through Space Delta 18 (NSIC). With the continuation of this development in the form of a host space for new Space Force missions or a permanent headquarters of the U.S. Space Command, Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the surrounding region can continue to foster collaboration and innovation in the defense sector. Ohio’s cities both in the Dayton and southwest Ohio area as well as the rest of the state are ready, willing, and able to invest in educating, housing, and employing Space Force families and all of its related suppliers and services.

In the last year, Ohio has established its claim as the Silicon Heartland with investments from Intel, Honda, LG, and numerous other innovative business and technology leaders. Ohio is already training the next generation of motivated, technologically advanced workers and military service members in our numerous universities, bases, and job centers. Ohio also has a strong history of military support, with nearly 725,000 veterans residing in the state of Ohio, many staying in and near Greene County, the home of Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Ohio, moreover, is the home of the United States Veterans Memorial and Museum, which most recently represented the best of Ohio and served as the location of our reception at the U.S. Conference of Mayors 91st annual meeting in Columbus.

Ohio has long been a center for research, technology, and defense. For these reasons and more, we present Ohio to you as the logical and obvious choice to be home to the U.S. Space Command.

Respectfully submitted,

The Ohio Mayors Alliance Board of Directors:

Mayor Dan Horrigan

City of Akron

Mayor Bob Stone

City of Beavercreek

Mayor Andrew Ginther

City of Columbus

Mayor Christina Muryn

City of Findlay

Mayor David Scheffler

City of Lancaster

Mayor Tim DeGeeter

City of Parma

Mayor Tito Brown

City of Youngstown

Original source can be found here.