DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE WASHINGTON, DC 20330-1665 OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY May 14, 2020 SAF/IE 1665 Air Force Pentagon Washington, DC 20330 To the Nation’s Governors: On August 29, 2019, United States Space Command was activated as the eleventh Unified Combatant Command. When fully established, United States Space Command will have approximately 1400 military and civilian personnel working in the headquarters. The Department of the Air Force, on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, is taking a collaborative approach by allowing eligible communities to self-nominate to serve as the host for this critical mission. Communities must meet three minimum screening criteria to be eligible for selfnomination. These criteria include locations that have a population base that is within the top 150 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States, located within 25 miles of a military base, and have a Livability Index score of 50 points out of 100 or higher as determined by the American Association of Retired Persons Public Policy Institute. Additional information on the screening and evaluation criteria is attached to this document. We are requesting your endorsement of any self-nominations from eligible communities to ensure they have the support of the state government. If any of your state’s communities meet these requirements and wish to self-nominate, please have them provide the one page nomination letter (template attached) with your endorsement back to us no later than June 30, 2020. We request all nominations have a single point of contact that our team can reach out to quickly to answer any questions. Responses and questions should be emailed to the Air Force Strategic Basing Office (usaf.pentagon.saf-ie.mbx.saf-ieib-workflow@mail.mil). Following the nomination process, the Department of the Air Force will conduct a comprehensive evaluation in collaboration with eligible communities. This process will assign a score based on the evaluation criteria listed in the attachment to this letter. Top scoring candidates will be afforded a site visit to obtain any additional information that may be required. We anticipate making a final selection for the preferred headquarters location in early 2021. Additional information on the self-nomination and evaluation process can be found at www.af.mil, at the U.S. Space Command Basing Nominations tab. Thank you again for your continued support of our Service Members and their families who will be a part of USSPACECOM headquarters. We stand ready to work with your communities and answer any questions they may have. Sincerely, JOHN W. HENDERSON, P.E. Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Installations, Environment and Energy) Attachment(s): 1. U.S. Space Command Nomination Letter 2. U.S. Space Command Screening & Evaluation Criteria 2 [Government Letterhead] The Honorable John Henderson Assistant Secretary of the Air Force 1670 Air Force Pentagon Washington, D.C, 20330-1670 [Date] Subject: United States Space Command Basing Nomination Dear Secretary Henderson, On behalf of the people of (City, State), I am submitting our nomination for consideration to host the headquarters for United States Space Command. After careful review of the screening and evaluation criteria, we believe our community meets all minimum eligibility requirements and would earn a competitive score when assessed against the evaluation criteria. Therefore, we would like to work with your team through the evaluation phase in the coming months. Our direct point of contact for this action is (POC Name, position) and can be reached at (phone number, email). Sincerely, [Name] [Position/Title in Government (e.g. Mayor)] I hereby endorse the nomination from (Position/Title in Government Name) of (City, State) to host the Headquarters for United States Space Command. Sincerely, [Governor Name] [State] United States Space Command Criteria Overview Screening Criteria – minimum eligibility requirements in order to nominate and to be considered for further evaluation: • Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) - Be within one of the 150 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States, based on census bureau 2019 population estimates. This ensures that eligible locations can support the expected increase in staff and their families. • Proximity to a Military Base - Be within 25 miles or less of a military base to ensure eligible locations can support service members and their families with key support services like military housing, health care, child care, commissary, and personnel and logistics support. • Livability Index - Have a Livability Index score of 50 points out of 100 or higher as determined by the American Association of Retired Persons Public Policy Institute. This criterion ensures that eligible locations can provide a quality of life that enables U.S. Space Command to competitively attract and retain a skilled workforce. Quality of life factors measured by the index include: housing affordability, great neighborhoods, safe and convenient transportation, clean air and water, quality health services, civic/social involvement, and inclusive opportunities. Evaluation Criteria – relative ability of eligible locations to support the United Space Command mission. Evaluations will be scored on a weighted 100 point scale. • Mission Related (40 points) –Assessment of the available qualified workforce, proximity to mutually supporting space entities, and ability of the eligible locations to provide emergency and incident response requirements, and enable mobility. • Infrastructure Capacity (30 points) –Infrastructure requirements to include facility and parking space, communications bandwidth and redundancy, special access communications, anti-terrorism, force protection (AT/FP) and security requirements, energy resilience, and the nearest active duty installation’s base operating support to service members to include medical care, childcare, military housing, and transportation. • Community Support (15 points) –Support to military families as measured by the quality of schools, professional licensure portability, cost of living, housing affordability, and access to military/veteran support programs • Costs to the Department of the Air Force (15 points) – One-time infrastructure and transportations costs, area construction cost factor, basic housing allowance rate, and area locality pay.