U.S. Rep. Dale Strong addressed missile production, the Golden Dome, Redstone Arsenal access, and other issues affecting North Alabama during the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber’s Washington Update breakfast on August 31.

Strong joined retired WHNT 19 anchor Steve Johnson for an onstage question-and-answer session at the Saturn Ballroom in the Von Braun Center. Johnson began by asking about reports that recent military operations have strained the nation’s missile stockpiles.

Strong said North Alabama’s defense industry is working to expand production and restock the nation’s supply.

“We’ve doubled the capacity of the PAC3 seeker head, and it’s the people in this room that made that happen. The president understands, the secretary of the Department of War understands what we’re doing to fill our clip, to build a fight on more than one front,” Strong said.

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Strong added that the area’s advanced manufacturing capacity is being pushed to unprecedented levels.

“The big thing is we’ve used a lot of weaponry, but I can tell you this right here. Our advanced manufacturing is being pushed at a level never pushed before, and I think that our finest hours are still ahead and our community plays a large role in that,” Strong noted.

The congressman also discussed Huntsville’s potential role in Golden Dome, the Trump administration’s proposed multilayered missile-defense system.

Recalling a recent Oval Office meeting, Strong said President Donald Trump told him to prepare for North Alabama to receive “a bigger piece of the pie than you even know.”

“I’m telling you, get ready, North Alabama. Golden Dome is on the horizon, and we’re going to play a huge part in it,” Strong said.

During the onstage discussion, Strong also spoke about the recent closure and reopening of Gate 3 at Redstone Arsenal. The gate closed July 6 because of security guard staffing shortages and reopened July 10 for weekday traffic.

“The people going to and from work should be able to know that those gates are going to be open. I’m going to do everything I can to be sure that those 68 people that keep those gates open every day and the security there are there,” Strong said.

Strong said funding was available and that Congress had authorized the use of contractors to fill security positions. He also shared a story about how he contacted U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll about the closure and that the gate reopened 18 hours later.

“The funding’s not the issue. The language is there that we want the subcontractors to do it, but we can’t have those gates closed,” he said.

Johnson then asked about the new Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in North Alabama, a 150-acre burial site along the northeast side of Maysville Road in Madison County. Construction is set to begin in October.

“When you see the schematics of this veterans’ cemetery, it is going to make our community proud. Our veterans deserve it,” Strong said.

The cemetery is being built with a federal grant of about $13.5 million and $20 million in state funding. State of Alabama officials estimate it could host as many as 150,000 burial sites and serve the region for two centuries.

“I get a little bit of credit for it, but I’m telling you, I couldn’t have done it without the governor and without our legislative group that’s here, the local county commission, everybody’s working on this thing,” Strong said.

After the Chamber program ended, local reporters gathered separately to ask Strong additional questions, including about continued mail delays and plans for a new post office in Owens Cross Roads.

Strong said the problem extends beyond Owens Cross Roads and criticized the U.S. Postal Service’s handling of the proposed facility. A previously considered site on U.S. 431 is no longer under contract, although USPS has said it is pursuing another location.

“We were told by the postmaster that they have property lined up for that situation, then they don’t have it, then they do. Then they come and ask us about build design. That’s not my role as a congressman,” Strong stated.

This July, Strong introduced the PERFORM Act, a bill that would stop the postmaster general from receiving a performance-based bonus when USPS fails to meet specified delivery, financial, audit, or reporting standards. Every member of Alabama’s U.S. House delegation joined the legislation as an original cosponsor.

“They have the money to run that facility, and what they need to do is to move forward with it and the new construction that they committed to,” he said.

Strong, a Republican, is seeking reelection in November against Democratic nominee Andrew Sneed, founder of a Huntsville-based mechanical contracting company.

Sneed has invited Strong to join a series of public town halls, and his campaign said Strong declined. Asked by a journalist about criticism that he has not held open, in-person town halls, Strong defended his use of telephone events.

“It works for the people I represent. I’m going to continue to do what I do and let the other people do what they do,” Strong said.

Strong continued, “I’m about as successful as any United States congressman has ever been with a three-vote majority. I’m required to be in DC for votes, and I will always represent the fifth district with my voting.”