Florida's Space Coast chosen as home for U.S. Space Force training command headquarters

EXPLORATION PARK, Fla. (WFLA) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that the state was chosen as the home for the United States Space Force Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) headquarters.

Gov. DeSantis said in a press release that the headquarters will be located at the Patrick Space Force Base, further solidifying Florida’s “dominance as the most military-friendly state.” DeSantis added that the announcement also positions Florida as “America’s hub for military and private space operations.”

“From Project Mercury to today’s privatized spaceflight, Americans look to Florida’s Space Coast to see history in the making,” Gov. DeSantis said in a statement. “We are honored to host the Space Training and Readiness Command headquarters and continue Florida’s history as America’s gateway to outer space.”

According to the U.S. Space Force, STARCOM exists to “prepare combat-ready U.S. Space Force (USSF) Guardians to fight and win in a contested, degraded, and operationally limited environment through the deliberate development, education, and training of space professionals; development of space warfighting doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures; and the test and evaluation of USSF capabilities.”

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Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez said Florida’s selection to be the headquarters “underscores the state’s exceptional assets.”

“Florida’s selection as the STARCOM headquarters underscores the state’s exceptional assets and its vital contribution to the nation’s space endeavors,” Nuñez said. “With an unmatched aerospace infrastructure, military installations, and top tier academic institutions, Florida provides key collaborative partnerships that will advance space military operations right from our Space Coast.”

Frank DiBello, the President and CEO of Space Florida, added that the decision reflects the “strategic importance of Florida in advancing national security and defense in space.”

“This decision by the U.S. Air Force reflects the strategic importance of Florida in advancing national security and defense in space,” DiBello said in a statement. “Bringing STARCOM’s headquarters to Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is a significant milestone in Florida’s history and reaffirms our critical role in advancing the nation’s space and military capabilities. I want to thank USSF General Stephen Purdy for his commitment to helping build a space military operations hub in Florida.”