Punishing our beautiful community

So President Donald Trump is doing again what he always does. Punish those states, like Colorado who didn’t vote for him and awarding Space Command to Huntsville, Ala. Hey folks of Colorado Springs who support him, watch what the economic impact of this move is going to mean to our community. Recognize how many people may have to move to Alabama and leave our beautiful community. Recognize family members, your children and grandchildren who will have to move multiple states away. Your weekly visits will turn into once or twice a year.

Where is Gov. Jared Polis, Mayor Yemi Mobolade or U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank in this debacle? How about Lauren Boebert? Aren’t you all charged with keeping Colorado solvent with enterprise? Were you not required to fight for Colorado? I certainly look forward to every one of them and their crafted speeches to explain how they allowed this to happen.

This situation is a disaster and all the elected officials who did nothing to stop the tyrant from punishing our beautiful city and state should be ashamed of themselves.

Once again, I call this disgraceful. But Alabama wins and Tommy Tuberville is laughing all the way to bank. And the smirk on Trump’s face with this announcement said it all: Vote for me or I will harm you anyway I can.

Trish Beyer

Colorado Springs

A political consolation prize

The outcry over the decision to relocate U.S. Space Command from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Ala., would be laughable if it weren’t so steeped in self-importance. Suddenly, those who cheered when the command was shoehorned into Colorado with a bureaucratic shrug and a wink are pretending this was always about “national security” and “readiness.” Let’s call it what it was: a political consolation prize disguised as strategic necessity.

The fact is, the original decision to base Space Command in Colorado Springs reeked of favoritism and haste. Multiple impartial reviews — including from the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Defense Inspector General — concluded that Huntsville was the top-scoring site by every metric that mattered: infrastructure, cost-efficiency, long-term sustainability and strategic value. The only thing Colorado Springs brought to the table was inertia and entitlement.

Let’s also talk economics. Huntsville offers lower housing costs, a booming defense and aerospace ecosystem, and a proven track record as “Rocket City.” Meanwhile, Colorado Springs is becoming the Boulder of the military-industrial complex — overpriced, overhyped, and increasingly out of touch.

And as for the hand-wringing over “readiness,” give me a break. This is 2025, not 1955. We’re not relocating missile silos or dragging radar arrays across the Rockies. We’re moving personnel and secure digital infrastructure —something that can be executed with military precision if leadership chooses competence over whining.

Those clutching their pearls in Colorado would do well to remember: Military commands don’t exist to prop up local economies. They exist to serve the nation. If Huntsville is better for the mission, the taxpayers, and the future — then let the move begin. The rest is just noise.

Jeffery Chandler

Colorado Springs

No dissension is allowed

So President Donald Trump is moving Space Command to Alabama. So much for the projected waste of billions of taxpayer dollars this move will cause, or the hit Space Command’s readiness and operational capability will take. Trump had some really great reasons for the move. He doesn’t like Colorado’s mail-in voting (Vladimir Putin reportedly doesn’t like mail-in voting, either) and Alabama “really wanted it badly.” Trump also couldn’t resist pointing our that he won Alabama in the 2024 election by 47 points, “but that didn’t influence my decision.”

I can’t wait to see how Jeff Crank and other local Republican leaders will try to spin this as a outcome that is actually a positive for Colorado Springs. Heck, they’ll probably say we should all be thanking the president for his great wisdom.

I’m certain we won’t see U.S. Rep. Crank fighting for his constituents (or our national security) by trying to convince Trump that the move is a bad idea. Where the president’s decisions are concerned, we all know that no dissension is allowed in the Republican ranks. As one of Crank’s staffers recently told my wife during a phone call asking for his stance on other issues, “You can’t expect a sitting Republican congressman to criticize the president.” Putin would certainly agree.

Andrew Lewis

Colorado Springs

Moving a successful operation

Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama was made because Alabama voted for Trump and Colorado didn’t. That shows what a small, vindictive, ignorant person Donald Trump is.

No thought was given to the expense involved in moving the equipment and personnel. There was no consideration to establishing a workable command structure at a new facility. There was no understanding of what it takes to building from the ground up a reliable operation that conducts space operations to support national security objectives.

The Space Command in Colorado needs to stay where it is because it has proven to be a worthy force in defending this country’s national interests. The professional men and women who proudly serve therein should not be asked to leave their homes to move to Alabama.

It is crazy to move a successful operation for an idiotic political reason, for no good military reason.

Donald Trump, a draft-dodger who knows nothing about military affairs, is not qualified to make important decisions about space and military. Trump needs to pay attention to things he knows something about. What they are, I have no idea.

David J. Baker

Colorado Springs