Alabama U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s hold on military promotions is hitting close to home.

Five military commands or defense program offices at Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal are being led by officers who do not have the rank their position requires or are staying past their regular tours of duty because of Tuberville’s hold, according to a Defense Department official who spoke to AL.com this week.

“It’s hurting the military, so consequently it would be hurting Redstone Arsenal, yes,” Maj. Gen. (retired) Jim Pillsbury told AL.com Wednesday. “We’re playing musical chairs with senior folks both in uniform and in the civilian ranks to try to fill some holes.”

“I have talked with his folks that are here in north Alabama,” Pillsbury said. “What we’d like to do is assure that the nation’s security is not being adversely affected by this.”

In Huntsville, the largest command affected is the Missile Defense Agency, the organization whose nearly 1,700 staff members are responsible for defending America against ballistic missiles.

“The ongoing confirmation holds on military nominees adds workload challenges and stressors to military families,” Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Thursday.

“During this time, the Missile Defense Agency has been forced to reassign key leadership positions while we await Senate confirmation of the next director of MDA,” Singh said. “This is the first time the Missile Defense Agency has been without a Senate-confirmed Director since the establishment of MDA in 2002. ”

Tuberville is protesting President Biden’s steps to assure access to reproductive care including abortion for military families assigned to duty in states like Alabama that have made abortion illegal. Tuberville has single-handedly frozen the process that promotes officers to the rank required by the position the Army needs those soldiers to fill.

Tuberville’s office did not respond to AL.com Thursday. The Senate is out of session for the month.

Beyond Alabama, there are also 83 three- and four-star promotion nominations pending in the next 150 days, a defense department official said, including the Director of the National Security Agency, Commander of CYBERCOM and the commander of NORTHCOM, one of the country’s combatant commands based in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Offices, officers and positions affected at Redstone in Huntsville are:

• Army Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey, commanding general of the 47 staff members of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command is a major general awaiting promotion to lieutenant general.
• Army Col. David C. Phillips, awaiting promotion from colonel to brigadier general, the rank normally in command of the 94-member to the Army Program Executive Officer for the Program Executive Office-Aviation
• Air Force Maj. Gen. Heath A. Collins, awaiting promotion to lieutenant general, the rank normally associated with the director of the 237-member Missile Defense Agency.
• Brig Gen. Donald J. Cothren, United States Fleet Forces Command, awaiting promotion to major general to Program Executive, Programs and Integration, Missile Defense Agency.
• Army Brig. Gen. Christine A. Beeler, awaiting promotion to major general the rank normally in command of the Army Contracting Command.

The pushback against the Tuberville freeze is growing among retired generals living in Huntsville who say it isn’t working.

Maj. Gen. (retired) Jim Myles said his concern for Tuberville is that he’ll miss opportunities “down the road for collaboration” with Democrats. That could affect Alabama, as well.

Retired General Jim Rogers, a former Redstone senior commander, told CNN this month that “Someone has given (Tuberville) bad advice. It affects everyone. It affects the nation, it affects every community like this.”

“I am very concerned our senator is getting led down a path that he does not understand the full impact for the military, and I just recommend that he reconsider that,” he said.

One large Alabama military installation not affected by the holds – at least for now – is Fort Novosel, formerly Fort Rucker, and the “Home of Army Aviation” in the Wiregrass. A Pentagon spokesman said, “Maj. Gen. Michael McCurry assumed command a year ago and will remain in command for another year as scheduled.”