The fight over the location of the U.S. Space Command headquarters chugs on after a new report from the Pentagon’s watchdog revealed uncertainty behind the scenes in choosing the permanent spot and several major questions left unanswered.

In a heavily redacted 54-page report, released Tuesday by the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General (IG), investigators found a break between then-Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Army Gen. James Dickinson, who was commander of Space Command at the time, over whether the headquarters should stay at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., or be moved to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala.

The biggest concern over a move, the inspector general found, was that roughly 1,000 civilian employees would not relocate from Colorado to Alabama and that setting up the needed facilities at Redstone Arsenal would take up to four years, risking Space Command's readiness.

The document is the latest piece in a basing decision that has stretched back more than four years to when President Trump, late in his first term, chose Alabama over Colorado for the command’s headquarters.

Trump, who reestablished Space Command in 2019, had chosen Peterson Space Force Base as a temporary headquarters. But days before leaving office, Trump selected Redstone Arsenal for a permanent spot, announcing that he “single-handedly” chose the location. The Air Force, meanwhile, named the........

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