From the Wright brothers, to American heroes like John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, the story of modern aviation was written in Ohio. Today, our state continues to lead the country in aerospace innovation, and in military service.
That’s why I led a bipartisan group of my Ohio colleagues to push the Administration to choose Ohio as headquarters for U.S. Space Command, and to locate additional U.S. Space Force units in Ohio.
Ohio is the natural place to lead our military into the next frontier – we have the history, we have the talent, and we have the infrastructure.
Having Space Command located alongside the Air Force Research Lab will assist in the creation of new space technologies and capabilities. The National Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patt is already the Space Force’s service intelligence.
Close proximity to NASA Glenn and the Armstrong Testing Facility will allow Space Command and Space Force to benefit from their unmatched experience and expertise in space missions. The Armstrong Testing Facility performs specialized research and testing that can’t be done anywhere else in the world. And we have a network of world-class research universities and community colleges.
Moving Space Command and Space Force units here would be good for the military – and good for Ohio and our economy. It’s why the 10 leading regional economic development organizations in Ohio are joining us in this effort.
Ohio is already a national center for aerospace jobs. And bringing Space Force to here would make the economic impact even greater.
Ohioans know how important aerospace sector jobs are to our state. There is a direct line that runs from GE Aviation in Cincinnati, through the base and aerospace companies in Dayton, and around Columbus, and up to NASA in Cleveland, touching thousands of Ohioans, reaching every region of Ohio.
When we bring military investment to Ohio, we position it to lead the country in the aerospace industry and create jobs around the state.
This isn’t partisan and it’s not ideological. We’ve always worked together to support and grow these jobs, and to invest in Ohio’s military installations, and we’re continuing that tradition to invest in Ohio aerospace jobs and innovation.
Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) represents the state in the U.S. Senate.
