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Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org<\/p>\n
Space Training and Readiness Command officially opened its new headquarters building in Florida this month, as the field command starts to move in earnest from Colorado. The process will hopefully be complete by 2027, Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John F. Bentivegna told lawmakers March 25.<\/p>\n
Since it was established in 2021, STARCOM has been temporarily headquartered at Petersen Space Force Base, Colo. As one of the Space Force\u2019s three field commands, it\u2019s responsible<\/a> for educating and training Guardians, developing the service\u2019s doctrine and tactics, and testing Space Force capabilities.\t\t<\/p>\n Bentivegna told members on the House Appropriation Committee that the command held a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 10 at a new headquarters \u201cannex\u201d on Patrick Space Force Base, located just a few miles from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Space Force\u2019s main launch facilities on the East Coast.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was just the first phase; in May, the second phase of the annex will open,\u201d Bentivegna said, adding that it will increase the amount of STARCOM staff at Patrick.<\/p>\n The Department of the Air Force selected Patrick as STARCOM\u2019s new home in 2023<\/a>. The Florida base location\u00a0beat out five other bases for STARCOM headquarters<\/a>\u2014Buckley, Peterson, and Schriever Space Forces Bases in Colorado;\u00a0and Vandenberg Space Force Base and Los Angeles Air Force Base in California.<\/p>\n The command started its move in July 2025, with Maj. Gen. James E. Smith taking the helm of STARCOM. But to this point, the headquarters staff has been small and scattered across Patrick. The new headquarters building sets the stage for the move to pick up steam. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is a symbol of momentum as we move in,\u201d Smith, said in a release. \u201cWe now have a place we can call home. It\u2019s going to enable us to continue to get after our mission.\u201d\t\t<\/p>\n Bentivegna said that \u201cwe\u2019re hoping to have several hundred more people there this summer, with the full move from Colorado executed and completed by the end of 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n STARCOM is conducting a \u201cphased approach\u201d for the move to work with the local community around Patrick to assess \u201cwhat\u2019s the childcare look like; what\u2019s the housing situation look like,\u201d Bentivegna said.<\/p>\n The aging infrastructure on Patrick will have to be modernized as well, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at Patrick and Cape Canaveral, the buildings might be old, but the views are amazing,\u201d Bentivegna joked, then reassured lawmakers that the service will improve the infrastructure \u201cto make sure there are clean, safe, and healthy conditions, and that [Guardian\u2019s] quality of life and quality of service is such that we can retain the talent.\u201d<\/p>\n