New Nuclear Command, but No Cyber Command: Based on decisions made at last week's Corona leadership summit, the Air Force announced yesterday that it will establish a "nuclear-focused major command" to concentrate the service's support for the US military's nuclear and deterrence missions. And the service plans to create a new numbered air force for cyber operations within Air Force Space Command, apparently axing plans to form a major command for cyber. Locations for the new nuclear command and cyber NAF were not addressed and will require further deliberation, according to the announcement. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said the service will announce "soon" more of its decisions regarding the nuclear enterprise, including the release of its nuclear roadmap, because they are "crucial steps" toward re-attaining excellence and re-vitalizing the Air Force's nuclear culture. He said the conduct of cyber operations is "a complex issue," as the Department of Defense and interagency partners have "substantial equity" in the realm. But the Air Force "will continue to do" its part to increase its cyber capabilities, he said. Among the other decisions rendered at Corona, the service leadership decided to assign a senior Air Force officer to certain joint force commanders; this officer will have command authority to direct air support. The service leaders also discussed which missions and functional specialties should receive additional allocations under the new 330,000 active duty end strength ceiling. "The leadership will work to close this issue for this budget cycle in the coming weeks," said Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz.
Last edited by GZR_Sactargets on 08 Oct 2008, 22:03, edited 1 time in total.
I think it's a good move. While I thought it extremely important to create "cyber command" I always thought it could just be an asset attached to AFSC (AF Space Command) and did not need to be it's own Major Command. I feel that the new not-yet-named "Air Force Nuclear Command" is a lot more impartant to seperate from ACC and make it it's own MAJCOM.
-Joe W.
"I love the smell of jetfuel in the morning....smells like VICTORY!!"
More Nuke and Cyber Nuggets: The Air Force's new nuclear-focused major command is provisionally named "Global Strike Command," the Daily Report understands based on service memos now circulating on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon. It will be led by a yet-to-be-identified three-star general. The command will encompass both the Air Force's Minuteman III ICBMs as well as its nuclear-capable bombers, meaning the B-2As and B-52Hs. But it will not oversee the conventional-only B-1B bomber fleet. They will remain under Air Combat Command, thereby nixing the idea proposed last month by the Schlesinger nuclear task force to move all Air Force bombers under the same nuclear-centric command. The Air Force is currently working up a phased plan to stand up a provisional command for the nuclear enterprise and then incrementally work towards the more permanent solution. Already Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) has come forward and said Minot Air Force Base in his state would be a "natural fit" for the nuclear command's headquarters. "[It] is the only air base in the nation that hosts both bombers and missiles with nuclear missions, so it should be at the top of the list of potential homes for this new command," he said in a release yesterday. Regarding cyber, the new numbered air force that the Air Force intends to establish under Air Force Space Command is notionally designated 24th Air Force. Combining cyber and space makes sense because it puts two interdependent domains under on single command, the Air Force said. The service said it still needs to determine a headquarters for the cyber NAF, too.
**Note when I was SAC Director of Targets, We had no problems with dual missions. My shop planned both nuclear and conventional strike plans. My shop also cut the tapes for the ICBMs. JSTPS did the primary laydown for Nukes but SAC also had its own contingency planning. So I guess I don't understand a dual command structure for nuclear and conventional bombers. That just makes for conflicts over ownership and command of the limited bomber forces.
IE the 2nd Bomb Wing (Barksdale AFB) has 3 B-52 squadrons, maybe 1 will focus on nuclear and move to "GSC" and the other two remain conventional and under ACC etc.
This will mean however that they will need to add more personel instead of consolidating, so while the 2nd bomb Wing remains the same albeit losing a squadron, that new nuclear squadron will be thrusted into it's own "Nuclear Focused" wing (meaning the addition of a MX group, Ops group, Support group....)
There are other organizational possibilities too but we won't know how those would pan out until the Command's organization comes out.
-Joe W.
"I love the smell of jetfuel in the morning....smells like VICTORY!!"
From AF Daily Report- 23 Oct 08
A10 Countdown: The new directorate on the Air Staff that will coordinate the Air Force's nuclear activities, enterprise-wide, will stand up formally on Nov. 1, Air Force spokeswoman Liz Aptekar tells the Daily Report. The Air Force leadership announced the creation of the office, designated A10, after the service's senior-level nuclear summit in September. Its purpose will be to provide a "singular focus on nuclear matters in the Air Force headquarters," the service said. It is one of the numerous cultural, organizational, and policy changes that the Air Force is undertaking to restore it nuclear stewardship and reinvigorate emphasis on the nuclear mission. (In fact, the service is due to release its nuclear roadmap any day now.) The new office will incorporate the functions currently exercised by the directorate of nuclear operations, plans, and requirements under the Air Staff's A3/A5 hierarchy. That office was itself a relatively new creation, having been established in February. The Air Force has not yet announced who will lead A10, but a likely candidate is Maj. Gen. Donald Alston, current head of the nuclear operations, plans and requirements directorate.
Another Missile Wing to Redo Inspection: Various news reports declare that the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., has failed its just-completed Nuclear Surety Inspection. Wired magazine's Danger Room blog first reported the news, saying in a Dec. 15 update that USAF had confirmed the unit's "unsatisfactory" rating. In response to query by the Daily Report, Air Force Space Command said the 90th MW had "deficiencies in several areas," but the unit "remains certified to perform its strategic mission." Air Force officials say the service has made recent NSIs and related inspections more stringent than those run in recent years as one consequence of the nuclear enterprise problems that led to the ouster this summer of the service's previous top two leaders. So far, two other nuclear-mission units—the missile wing at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and the bomb wing at Minot AFB, N.D.—also failed recent initial NSI reviews. Malmstrom's 341st MW still faces a re-test, while Minot's 5th Bomb Wing has already passed its week-long reinspection. When USAF inactivated Strategic Air Command in 1992, it divided up its nuclear enterprise, placing the ICBM force under AFSPC and the nuclear-capable bombers under Air Combat Command. As part of its new nuclear roadmap, the Air Force plans to establish a new major command to reassemble all its nuclear-capable units under one command, to be named Global Strike Command with its headquarters temporarily located at Bolling AFB, D.C.
Another Missile Wing to Redo Inspection: Various news reports declare that the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., has failed its just-completed Nuclear Surety Inspection. Wired magazine's Danger Room blog first reported the news, saying in a Dec. 15 update that USAF had confirmed the unit's "unsatisfactory" rating. In response to query by the Daily Report, Air Force Space Command said the 90th MW had "deficiencies in several areas," but the unit "remains certified to perform its strategic mission." Air Force officials say the service has made recent NSIs and related inspections more stringent than those run in recent years as one consequence of the nuclear enterprise problems that led to the ouster this summer of the service's previous top two leaders. So far, two other nuclear-mission units—the missile wing at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and the bomb wing at Minot AFB, N.D.—also failed recent initial NSI reviews. Malmstrom's 341st MW still faces a re-test, while Minot's 5th Bomb Wing has already passed its week-long reinspection. When USAF inactivated Strategic Air Command in 1992, it divided up its nuclear enterprise, placing the ICBM force under AFSPC and the nuclear-capable bombers under Air Combat Command. As part of its new nuclear roadmap, the Air Force plans to establish a new major command to reassemble all its nuclear-capable units under one command, to be named Global Strike Command with its headquarters temporarily located at Bolling AFB, D.C.
