Colorado Springs has served as the epicenter of military space operations since their inception. As the legacy and current home of U.S. Space Command, home to the United States Air Force Academy, and headquarters of the U.S. Army’s sole Space Brigade, this city has history with space.

We also have the future. Colorado Springs is home to more than 250 aerospace and defense companies and suppliers. This unique ecosystem includes international and locally grown companies and leaders in creating innovative military space technologies and state-of-the-art development centers.

This burgeoning industry is fed by a steady stream of highly-educated graduates advancing from the U.S. Air Force Academy, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and a robust veteran population with both military and aerospace experience. It is clear that there is no location in the United States better equipped to host and support this new command.

We are prepared to continue the mission. This preparation is essential to the seamless continuation of the Space Command mission and the elimination of unnecessary risks to our national security. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in new and existing military space infrastructure at existing local military installations. The work force needed to support this mission is in Colorado Springs today.

As home to U.S. Northern Command, NORAD, the Missile Defense Integration and Operation Center, Army space operational units and two Air Force Bases, we have the partners that will interact and provide redundant communications networks, anti-terrorism and force protection assets to U.S. Space Command. Headquartering Space Command in Colorado Springs, amidst an abundance of infrastructure and collaboration, makes sense for the nation.

In the last five years the citizens of Colorado Springs have invested a billion dollars in critical public infrastructure, including transportation infrastructure that aids the missions of all our military installations.

These technical merits alone build an overwhelmingly strong case for the permanent headquartering of U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs. We’re experienced. We’re equipped. We’re staffed and we’re ready.

But the list of accolades is incomplete without the fact that Colorado Springs is simply the best location for Space Command families. Private employers worldwide have been flocking to Colorado Springs for years following our three-year reign atop U.S. News and World Report’s “Most Desirable Places to Live” list. The City has found itself in the top three on the outlet’s “Best Places to Live” list since 2017. Those rankings are based on quality of educational institutions, healthcare, job market and quality of life.

When it comes to family-friendliness, Colorado Springs was ranked a “Top place for a family weekend” by NBC’s Today. We are home to the nation’s number one city park, the Garden of the Gods, as ranked by Trip Advisor. We were ranked sixth in the nation for big cities boasting “healthy housing markets.”

And recent reciprocal statewide licensing legislation has made an already strong job market even more accessible to our military spouses.

These awards come alongside a constant stream of recognitions, including being named the #1 Best Place for Veterans by the Military Times in 2019, due to our supportive community, abundance of veteran service organizations and four nearby Veteran Affairs health facilities.

Colorado Springs has dozens of dynamic non-profits serving active duty personnel and veterans with a variety of services, including housing assistance, transition to civilian life and assistance to families of deployed soldiers and airmen. Several Colorado foundations invest millions in support of the military presence in Colorado Springs. We’re proud to be designated as a “Great American Defense Community”.

Local installation Fort Carson dubs Colorado Springs the “Best Hometown in the Army.” Having been here since the 1940s, they should know.

Colorado Springs is known as Olympic City USA. We are a City for Champions. And we are, far and away, the best location to serve as the permanent home of U.S. Space Command.

John Suthers is mayor of Colorado Springs.