Montgomery native may have future with new U.S. Space Command center in Huntsville

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - There is a Montgomery County connection to the United States Space Command that will likely locate in Huntsville. The military’s announcement Wednesday didn’t just excite the locals in north Alabama, but a youngster from the River Region.

“I’m really, really happy about it,” said 15-year-old Joshua Ledlow.

Ledlow, a Montgomery native, could hardly contain his excitement when he heard the news this week; the news the military has plans to locate its 6th branch, the United States Space Command in Huntsville at Redstone Arsenal, just three miles down the road from the Alabama Cyber Technology and Engineering School, the very school Joshua attends.

“We’re much more invigorated. We all know that we want to go in the cyber field but now a huge opportunity in that field and it feels so much more realistic plus the military runs in my family,” said Ledlow.

“I mean this is a monumental,” said Boone Kinard.

Boone Kinard is a school board member. With the command center likely coming to Huntsville, Kinard says truly, the sky’s the limit to students like Ledlow who has dreams of becoming a software developer.

“I mean these students are already learning. Not just the state, but the nation’s top leaders and these are exactly the type of jobs these students are prepared to take,” said Kinard.

Much like the space command, the school has plans of its own; a new Alabama Cyber Technology and Engineering School is in the works.

“It’s cool to see the Apollo landing but now I know I might be able to help generate something new like that feels even more amazing,” said Ledlow.

This is no doubt a feather in Alabama’s cap. The reason? Our neighbor to the north beat out six other cities for the space command headquarters.

Although Redstone Arsenal is the preferred site for the military, the Air Force is expected to make its final decision by spring of 2023 after getting the results of an environmental impact study.

The new Alabama Cyber Technology and Engineering is under construction now with the completion date sometime in the summer of 2022.

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