Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) is a

Major Command Major Command or Major Commands are large formations of the United States Armed Forces. Historically, a Major Command is the highest level of command. Within the United States Army, the acronym MACOM is used for Major Command. Within the United Sta ...

(MAJCOM) of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

, headquartered at

Barksdale Air Force Base Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in northwest Louisiana, United States, in Bossier Parish. It is contiguous to Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwestern edge. Barksdale AF ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

. 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 Air Force's service component to the

United States Strategic Command United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear deter ...

(USSTRATCOM). Air Force Global Strike Command is the direct descendant unit of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

–era

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

( SAC). It holds the lineage, history and honors of SAC.

History

: ''See:

for history prior to 2009'' Donley Global Strike Command Press Conference

Following the

2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident On 29 August 2007, six AGM-129 ACM cruise missiles, each loaded with a W80-1 variable yield nuclear warhead, were mistakenly loaded onto a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52H heavy bomber at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota and transport ...

when six AGM-129 Air-Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCM), each loaded with a W80-1 variable yield nuclear warhead, were mistakenly loaded onto a B-52H at Minot AFB and transported to Barksdale AFB, and the 2008 incident in which four MK-12 forward-section reentry vehicle assemblies were mistakenly shipped to Taiwan, former Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger led an investigation into the status of U.S. Air Force nuclear surety. Secretary Schlesinger's recommendation was the creation of a single major command under which all Air Force nuclear assets should be placed for better accountability. On 24 October 2008, the Secretary of the United States Air Force,

Michael Donley Michael Bruce Donley (born October 4, 1952) is a United States government official who is the director of administration and management in the Office of the Secretary of Defense since May 2021, having served in the same position from 2005 to 200 ...

, announced the creation of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) as a new Air Force major command (MAJCOM). The AFGSC is the only remaining Air Force component command reporting to the

(USSTRATCOM) at Offutt. The new command began operations in August 2009, combining the nuclear-capable strategic bomber force previously operated by Air Combat Command (ACC) and the land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force previously operated by Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). ACC and AFSPC had assumed said responsibilities following the 1992 inactivation of

(SAC). The USAF currently has 20 B-2 Spirit, 57 B-52 Stratofortress bombers, and three missile wings of Minuteman III ICBMs that are designated as nuclear-capable. When needed for conventional missions, the B-2, and B-52 bombers will be reassigned to regional commands. Although formerly assigned a nuclear mission, the Rockwell B-1 Lancer bomber force transitioned to a strictly conventional mission force. The B-1 was initially retained in Air Combat Command, although that decision was reversed in 2015. The Rockwell B-1 Lancer bombers now are organized under the Air Force Global Strike Command. In November 2008, the USAF announced plans to start a fourth B-52 squadron at Minot Air Force Base to support Air Force Global Strike Command. The USAF added that, "all the nuclear-capable bombers of what is now

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forc ...

, and ommand of all ICBMsof what is now in Twentieth Air Force, will report to this single new command.". This action was accomplished on 3 September 2009, when the 69th Bomb Squadron reactivated at Minot Air Force Base. The command's 55-member preliminary team, commanded by Major General James Kowalski, began operations at Bolling Air Force Base on 12 January 2009. The team was charged with finding a location for the new headquarters, and for transitioning the assigned units into the new command. In April 2009, the preliminary team selected Barksdale Air Force Base as the headquarters for the new command. Donley stated that the factors which contributed to the selection of Barksdale over the other candidate bases were its connection to the 8th Air Force, a "slightly larger iroperations center", and the base's hosting of the 11th Bomb Squadron, which trains B-52 aircrews and will be adding special emphasis on nuclear training. On 16 April 2009,

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The se ...

Robert Gates announced that Air Force

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

Frank G. Klotz was nominated to be the first commander of the Global Strike Command. Prior to his assignment to AFGSC, Lt Gen Klotz was the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and Director of the Air Force Staff. On 18 June, after an environmental assessment finding of "No Significant Impact", Barksdale Air Force Base was announced as the permanent location for AFGSC. On 7 August 2009, the command officially became active with Lt. Gen. Klotz assuming command of the organization. The headquarters staff includes 900 people, and reached full operational capability by 30 September 2010. The Twentieth Air Force, the service's missile organization, came under the new command on 1 December 2009, and the Eighth Air Force, the bomber component, came under the command on 1 February 2010.

Role and operations

Barksdale AFB, Global Strike Command IMG 2372

Air Force Global Strike Command was established for the improvement of the management of the USAF portion of the

United States' nuclear arsenal The United States was the first country to manufacture nuclear weapons and is the only country to have used them in combat, with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. Before and during the Cold War, it conducted 1,054 nucle ...

, 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. The creation of Air Force Global Strike Command was outlined in the recommendations of the investigation following the

. The command was activated 7 August 2009, at

, 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." The command has a worldwide

area of responsibility Area of responsibility (AOR) is a pre-defined geographic region assigned to Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP), that are used to define an area with specific geographic boundaries where they have the authority to plan and co ...

(AOR) as a subordinate component command of United States Strategic Command. 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 ill bejoining 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 6 October 2016, the 595th Command and Control Group was activated at Offutt Air Force Base,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

to assume the responsibility for the Boeing E-4 NAOC mission.

Strategic bombers

Eighth Air Force is designated as U.S. Strategic Command's Task Force 204 (TF 204), providing on-alert, combat-ready forces to the President of the United States. The mission of "The Mighty Eighth" is to safeguard America's interests through strategic deterrence and global combat power. Eighth Air Force controls long-range nuclear-capable bomber assets throughout the United States and overseas locations. Its flexible, conventional and nuclear deterrence mission provides the capability to deploy forces and engage enemy threats from home station or forward positioned, anywhere, any time. The 8th Air Force motto is "Deterrence through strength, global strike on demand." Offensive aircraft assets include the

Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying ...

, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, and Boeing B-1B Lancer. The Missouri Air National Guard's 131st Bomb Wing is an associate unit of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, flying the B-2A Spirit. If federalized, it is gained by Eighth Air Force. The

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

's 307th Bomb Wing is an associate unit of the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, flying the B-52H Stratofortress. In addition, it's geographically separated 489th Bomb Group is an associate unit of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB, flying the B-1B Lancer. If activated, it is gained by Eighth Air Force.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles

Twentieth Air Force is responsible for maintaining and operating the Air Force's intercontinental ballistic missile force. Designated as USSTRATCOM's Task Force 214 (TF 214), 20th Air Force provides on-alert, combat-ready ICBMs to the President of the United States. The ICBMs are on 24-hour/365-day alert and are ready to launch on any given day. AFGSC's Twentieth Air Force is the Air Force's lead command for and largest operator of UH-1N Huey helicopters. The UH-1N supports ICBM operations in missile fields controlled by F.E. Warren, Malmstrom and Minot Air Force Bases. In 2015, the

582d Helicopter Group The 582nd Helicopter Group was activated in January 2015 at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming to provide a unified headquarters for the helicopter squadrons located on the intercontinental ballistic missile bases of Air Force Global Strike C ...

was activated to supervise the three UH-1 squadrons. The Huey will be replaced by the

Grey Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

Component units

Air Force Global Strike Command comprises the following wings and major units. * Headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command ( Barksdale AFB, Louisiana)

Eighth Air Force

* Headquarters

(Barksdale AFB) * 2nd Bomb Wing (Barksdale AFB) – B-52H Stratofortress ** 11th Bomb Squadron ** 20th Bomb Squadron **

96th Bomb Squadron The 96th Bomb Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 2d Operations Group located at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The 96th is equipped with the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress. Formed in August 1917, the 96 BS saw combat on the W ...

* 5th Bomb Wing ( Minot AFB, North Dakota) – B-52H Stratofortress ** 23rd Bomb Squadron ** 69th Bomb Squadron * 7th Bomb Wing ( Dyess AFB, Texas) – B-1B Lancer ** 9th Bomb Squadron ** 28th Bomb Squadron * 28th Bomb Wing ( Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota) – B-1B Lancer **

34th Bomb Squadron The 34th Bomb Squadron is part of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. It operates Rockwell B-1 Lancer aircraft providing strategic bombing capability. Overview The 34th Bomb Squadron is presently the 4th-oldest act ...

37th Bomb Squadron The 37th Bomb Squadron is part of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. It operates Rockwell B-1 Lancer aircraft providing strategic bombing capability. The squadron is one of the oldest in the United States Air Force, ...

* 509th Bomb Wing ( Whiteman AFB, Missouri) – B-2A Spirit ** 13th Bomb Squadron ** 393rd Bomb Squadron * 595th Command and Control Group ( Offut AFB, Nebraska) **

1st Airborne Command Control Squadron The 1st Airborne Command Control Squadron is part of the 595th Command and Control Group at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. It operates the Boeing E-4 aircraft conducting airborne command and control missions. The squadron is one of the old ...

– E-4B Advanced Airborne Command Post ** 595th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron ** 595th Strategic Communications Squadron ** 625th Strategic Operations Squadron * 608th Air Operations Center (Barksdale AFB)

Twentieth Air Force

* Headquarters Twentieth Air Force (

Francis E. Warren AFB Francis E. Warren Air Force Base , shortened as F.E. Warren AFB is a United States Air Force base (AFB) located approximately west of Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is one of three strategic-missile bases in the U.S. It was named in honor of Francis E ...

, Wyoming) * 90th Missile Wing (

) – LGM-30G Minuteman-III **

319th Missile Squadron The 319th Missile Squadron is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 90th Operations Group at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. The squadron is equipped with the LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, wit ...

** 320th Missile Squadron ** 321st Missile Squadron *

91st Missile Wing The 91st Missile Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command Twentieth Air Force. It is stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota as a tenant unit. The 91 MW is one of the Air Force's three inte ...

( Minot AFB) – LGM-30G Minuteman-III ** 740th Missile Squadron **

741st Missile Squadron The 741st Missile Squadron is a United States Air Force unit stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The squadron is equipped with the LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, with a mission of nuclear deterrence. The ...

** 742nd Missile Squadron *

341st Missile Wing The United States Air Force's 341st Missile Wing is an intercontinental ballistic missile unit headquartered at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. Up until 1 July 2008, it was designated as the 341st Space Wing. Established as a World War II T ...

( Malmstrom AFB, Montana) – LGM-30G Minuteman-III **

10th Missile Squadron The 10th Missile Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 341st Operations Group, stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. The squadron is equipped with the LGM-30G Minuteman III Intercontinental ballistic ...

** 12th Missile Squadron **

490th Missile Squadron The 490th Missile Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 341st Operations Group, stationed at Malmstrom AFB, Montana. The 490 MS is equipped with the LGM-30G Minuteman III Intercontinental ballistic missile, with a ...

377th Air Base Wing The 377th Air Base Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The wing has been the host unit at Kirtland since January 1993. It was activated on 1 January 1993, when Air Force Materiel Command a ...

( Kirtland AFB, New Mexico) *

576th Flight Test Squadron The 576th Flight Test Squadron is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Force Global Strike Command. The 576th is stationed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The unit was first established in January 1943 as the 576th Bomb ...

( Vandenberg SFB, California) *

582nd Helicopter Group The 582nd Helicopter Group was activated in January 2015 at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming to provide a unified headquarters for the helicopter squadrons located on the intercontinental ballistic missile bases of Air Force Global Strike ...

(

) – UH-1N Iroquois * 620th Ground Combat Training Squadron (Camp Guernsey, Wyoming)

Air reserve

Air Force Global Strike Command has operational "gaining command" responsibility for several Air Reserve Component (ARC) units, comprising personnel and aircraft from

( AFRC) and the

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

( ANG).

* 307th Bomb Wing (Barksdale AFB) **

307th Operations Group The 307th Operations Group is an Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 307th Bomb Wing, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. In the postwar era, the 307th Bombardmen ...

(Barksdale AFB) *** 93d Bomb Squadron – B-52H Stratofortress *** 343d Bomb Squadron – B-52H Stratofortress ** 489th Bomb Group (Dyess AFB) ***

345th Bomb Squadron The 345th Bomb Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 489th Bomb Group. It is stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, where it is an associate unit of the 7th Bomb Wing. The squadron was first activated dur ...

– B-1B Lancer Missouri Air National Guard * 131st Bomb Wing (Whiteman AFB) **

131st Operations Group The mission of the 131st Operations Group, 131st Bomb Wing, is to provide expeditionary, B-2 global strike combat support capabilities to geographic commanders and Commander, United States Strategic Command. This is done by training and equippin ...

(Whiteman AFB) ***

110th Bomb Squadron The 110th Bomb Squadron (110 BS) is a unit of the Missouri Air National Guard 131st Bomb Wing located at Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, Missouri. The 110th is equipped with the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit. The 110 BS is the oldest unit in ...

– B-2A Spirit

Other units

* Air Operations Group ( Otis ANGB, Massachusetts) * USAF Nuclear Command, Control and Communications Center (Barksdale AFB)

List of commanders

2022 Air Force Global Strike Command Change of Command 221207-F-NI018-1227

Lineage

* Established as Continental Air Forces on 13 December 1944 : Activated on 15 December 1944 : Redesignated:

on 21 March 1946 : Inactivated on 1 June 1992 * Redesignated as Air Force Global Strike Command, and activated, on 7 August 2009

Assignments

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, 15 December 1944 *

, 26 September 1947 – 1 June 1992 * United States Air Force, 7 August 2009–present.

Stations

* Washington, District of Columbia, 15 December 1944 * Bolling Air Force Base, District of Columbia, by 1946 *

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force. In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form Joint Ba ...

, Maryland, 21 October 1946 * Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 9 November 1948 – 1 June 1992 *

, Louisiana, 7 August 2009–present

Aircraft and missiles

(2009–present) *

Boeing B-52H Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

(2009–present) * Bell UH-1N Twin Huey (2009–present) * LGM-30G Minuteman III (2009–present) * B-1B Lancer (2015–present) * Boeing E-4B (2016–present) * Boeing MH-139A Grey Wolf (2019–present)

References

External links

Official Website

Air Force Global Strike Command
(unclassified briefing), Lt Gen James M. Kowalski, 7 May 2013

– GlobalSecurity.org {{Authority control American Empire Major commands of the United States Air Force Bombardment units and formations of the United States Air Force Military units and formations established in 2009 United States nuclear command and control 2009 establishments in the United States Strategic forces