Air Force Global Strike Command | |
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Air Force Global Strike Command Headquarters building, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana
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Active | 1946–1992 (as Strategic Air Command) 2009–present |
Country | United States of America |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Type | Major Command |
Role | Organize, train and equip U.S. Air Force strategic deterrence forces |
Part of | United States Strategic Command |
Headquarters | Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, U.S. |
Motto(s) | "Deter...Assure...Strike!" |
Commanders | |
Current commander |
General Robin Rand |
Insignia | |
Air Force Global Strike Command emblem (Approved 20 May 2009) |
Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. AFGSC provides combat-ready forces to conduct strategic nuclear deterrence and global strike operations in support of combatant commanders.
Air Force Global Strike Command is the direct descendant unit of the Cold War-era Strategic Air Command (SAC). It holds the lineage, history and honors of SAC.
Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) was established for the improvement of the management of the USAF portion of the United States' nuclear arsenal, which accounts for two-thirds of America's nuclear deterrent. It assumed responsibility for the nuclear-capable assets of Air Force Space Command on 1 December 2009 and the nuclear-capable assets of Air Combat Command on 1 February 2010. Its creation was outlined in the recommendations of the investigation following the 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident. The command was activated 7 August 2009, at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.
The mission of Air Force Global Strike Command is to "Develop and provide combat-ready forces for nuclear deterrence and global strike operations --Safe --Secure --Effective to support the President of the United States and combatant commanders."
AFGSC consists of over 31,000 personnel assigned to nine wings, two geographically-separated squadrons and one detachment in the continental United States and deployed to locations around the globe.
Changes to the AFGSC units began with the announcement of the 377th Air Base Wing's realignment in December 2014. In mid-April 2015, Air Force Times reported that "B-1 bombers from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota and Dyess Air Force Base in Texas [will be] joining their long-range B-2 and B-52 bomber counterparts under a single Air Force command as part of a leadership shift announced Monday." This means that two bomb wings formerly under Air Combat Command will shift into AFGSC. The units came under the command on 1 October 2015. On October 6, 2016, the 595th Command and Control Group was activated at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska to assume the responsibility for the Boeing E-4 NAOC mission.