STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – It may sound preposterous, but when you consider the federal government is looking for a U.S. Space Command headquarters, city officials with Sterling Heights said the area is looking to innovate Michigan’s defense corridor.
READ: Sterling Heights wants to be considered for headquarters of United States Space Command
We depend on satellites for a lot these days -- almost everyone uses the GPS on their cellphone. President Donald Trump believes they need protection from other countries who might do them harm.
The new Space Force does the training and the Space Command does the deploying when it gets more fully developed.
The hope is it will deploy from Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, near Mount Clemens. That’s where the HQ would be placed should Michigan get the bid. However, the request for proposals asked for a may to make a pitch, and Harrison Township only has a city manager.
That’s why Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor raised his hand and filed his paperwork Tuesday.
“Aside from the 1,400-1,500 jobs that I’ve heard it would employ at the headquarters, it would be huge accomplishment for the city of Sterling Heights,” Taylor said. “It would be incredibly great long-term for the city and I though it would have a huge impact.”
The nomination request was signed by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel.
Now this might sound like pie in the sky, but Sterling Heights and Macomb County have considerable defense bona fides with a number of military vehicle facilities on what’s known as Michigan’s defense corridor.