Commissioner Diaz wants Miami-Dade to house new Space Command

MIAMI – Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz is sponsoring legislation to support the effort to have Miami-Dade County selected as the headquarters of the newly created U.S. Space Force.

The resolution is scheduled for consideration by the County Commission at its July 21 meeting, which will be held online beginning at 9:30 a.m. Residents wishing to attend the meeting virtually can register at miamidade.live/BCCMeeting. The meeting also will be carried live on Miami-Dade TV and at miamidade.gov/webcasting.

President Trump established the U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of the military in December 2019 to organize, train and equip space forces to protect the United States and its allied interests in space. On May 15, the Air Force and the United States Secretary of Defense announced the launch of a revised approach to determine and select the permanent location of the Space Force headquarters, known as Space Command or SPACECOM. Nominees will be graded on a variety of issues including the local workforce, infrastructure, local construction costs, livability, community support for military families and being located within 25 miles of a military installation. Last month, Miami-Dade County submitted its nomination to host SPACECOM headquarters, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis subsequently endorsed the County’s nomination to the Air Force as one of eight communities in Florida that could be home to SPACECOM.

Commissioner Diaz’s legislation calls on the County to continue to work closely with the Beacon Council and collaborate with the science and engineering departments of local colleges and universities, local municipalities, neighboring counties and local businesses to prepare the County’s submissions to the Air Force for the next phase of the competition and evaluation, including the development of an incentive package.

“SPACECOM would be a perfect fit for Miami-Dade, which is already home to U.S. Southern Command, Special Operations Command South, and Homestead Air Reserve Base. Miami also boasts a high livability index score, so it meets all the criteria and then some,” said Commissioner Diaz, a former Marine who also serves as the Military liaison for Miami- Dade County.

Final selection is expected in early 2021.