AF Global Strike Command Activated

In the aftermath of a 2007 incident in which a B-52 bomber wrongly carried nuclear weapons from Minot Air Force Base, N.Dak., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and a 2006 incident in which ballistic missile parts were inadvertently shipped to Taiwan, the Air Force took its first major step in consolidating all nuclear assets under a single umbrella, with the establishment of the new Global Strike Command. The new command will be temporarily headquartered at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., where it officially stood up during a Jan. 12 ceremony. Air Combat Command and Air Force Space Command will have supporting detachments. Global Strike Command will remain at Bolling as a provisional operation until officials choose a permanent home and determine precisely what assets it will need to fulfill its mission, says its commander, Brig. Gen. James M. Kowalski.