U.S. Space Command Announces General Officer, Alabama Native to Serve as Headquarters Transition Team Director

Jan. 29, 2026 |

Gen. Stephen Whiting, U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) commander, announced today that Maj. Gen. Terry L. Grisham, a long-time Alabama native with nearly 40 years of military and civilian service, will serve as the command's transition team director. In his role, Grisham will lead the Program Management Office in Huntsville and oversee the relocation support.

"Terry's nearly 40 years of expertise is informed by both his military service in the Alabama National Guard and civil service with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command," Whiting said. "This experience — paired with his deep ties to the surrounding community — will prove invaluable as he leads our efforts on Redstone Arsenal to expeditiously relocate our warfighting organization while ensuring that the perspectives of both our military and civilian workforce are clearly represented."

The first members of USSPACECOM's headquarters staff are already on the ground at Redstone Arsenal, forming a dedicated Project Management Office focused on military construction and infrastructure. Whiting made the announcement shoulder-to-shoulder with Grisham as part of a visit with the PMO team during a day-long tour of facilities on Redstone Arsenal. 

"I'm thrilled to be joining the USSPACECOM team as the on-ground lead to continue establishing our permanent headquarters on Redstone Arsenal," Grisham said. "It's a great honor to both represent the command in our community, and as a longtime resident of Northern Alabama, serve as an ambassador to welcome our workforce home."

Grisham will lead the team — known as the command's "South Detachment," alongside deputy director Col. Raymond Ruscoe, who previously served as the director of USSPACECOM's European Command Joint Integrated Service Team (JIST). In addition to managing the requirements for military construction and infrastructure, being on-ground full time will facilitate greater engagement with local and state leaders.

In September 2025, the President announced USSPACECOM's relocation to Redstone Arsenal, a move that underscores the command's critical role in safeguarding America's interests in space. The command has been working since that time to lay the groundwork for a purpose-built headquarters on Redstone Arsenal. This effort was recognized by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth during a ceremony at Redstone on Dec. 12, 2025, where he remarked that, "We are deadly serious in committing to cutting every piece of red tape and bureaucracy to get this headquarters established as quickly as humanly possible."

U.S., U.K. Demonstrate Partnership During First On-Orbit Operation

Sept. 19, 2025 | By U.S. Space Command |

U.S. Space Command and United Kingdom Space Command conducted their first coordinated satellite maneuver from Sept. 4 to 12, demonstrating the alliance's readiness to conduct dynamic, responsible and integrated space operations.

 
The Rendezvous Proximity Operation, delivered under Multinational Force – Operation Olympic Defender, repositioned a U.S. satellite to examine a U.K. satellite and assure our ally of its nominal operation in orbit. 
 
"This operation was a first of its kind for U.K. Space Command and represents a significant increase in operational capability," said Royal Air Force Maj. Gen. Paul Tedman, U.K. Space Command commander. "Expertly executed with U.S. Space Command, I could not be more pleased or proud of the rapid progress we are making with our allies in Multinational Force – Operation Olympic Defender. We are now, with our allies, conducting advanced orbital operations to protect and defend our shared national and military interests in space." 
 
The long-standing interoperability between the U.K. and the U.S. extends into space through continuous security cooperation, information sharing and exercises. The U.K. was also among the first nations to join the Spacecom-led coalition alongside the U.S., with the purpose of unifying combined space operations, should they ever be needed in conflict. The coordinated on-orbit maneuver marks the continued progress in maturing the Olympic Defender cooperation framework. 

 
"This coordinated maneuver between two allies validated the interoperability that's foundational to our collective defense," said Space Force Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess, commander of U.S. Space Forces-Space and Spacecom's Combined Joint Force Space Component Command. "The confirmation of the [Multinational Force]'s combined military might on-orbit delivers a credible deterrent in the increasingly contested space domain." 
 
Schiess said space is a team sport, and no nation can accomplish all that is required to meet its objectives there alone. Cooperation between the U.S. and the U.K. provides a more comprehensive understanding of the congested and complex space environment, as well as opportunities to maintain readiness for major engagements, and ensures safe and responsible space operations. 
 
"The success of this multidomain operation represents the warfighting advantage realized by employing our capabilities and expertise as one unified team," said Space Force Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of Spacecom and Olympic Defender. "Though our opponents may attempt to replicate the value of such cooperation, our partnerships are uniquely defined by not only the mutual goal of deterring aggression but a shared pledge to fight and win shoulder to shoulder, if necessary."