An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Thank You to the Global Strike Command Team

  • Published
  • By Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz
  • Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command
On September 30, Air Force Global Strike Command achieved Full Operational Capability ... on time and on target!

Reaching this historic milestone would not have happened without each and every one of you, the women and men of Global Strike Command. Your professionalism, hard work and personal sacrifice allowed us to accomplish what at first may have seemed nearly impossible.

In the 14 months following our formal activation as a major command on Aug. 7, 2009, we've built Global Strike Command in a methodical, step-by-step process. Along the way, we've had to meet the urgent need to create a model organization while continuing to provide safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrence and global strike capabilities to the president and combatant commanders around the world. It's been said that this task was a lot like building an aircraft while actually having to fly it.

Achieving success has been a total team effort, with each and every member of the command playing an important and indispensable role. First on the scene were the early pioneers who formed the provisional command in January 2009 at Bolling Air Force Base. Later that same year, hundreds of temporary duty and permanent party members answered the call and made the journey to Barksdale Air Force Base to stand up the permanent headquarters. Next to join the team were the operators, maintainers, security forces and support Airmen of 20th Air Force and 8th Air Force who relentlessly performed their enduring missions while becoming an integral part of a new major command ... their very own major command. And, throughout the process, the communities around our bases continued to offer steadfast, magnificent support to our Airmen and their families.

Thank you one and all for what you have done to bring us to this historic moment. By reaching Full Operational Capability, we've kept our promise to our senior leaders to deliver a full-up major command that aligns all Air Force long-range, nuclear capable forces under a single chain-of-command, with a special trust and responsibility for the most powerful weapons in our Nation's arsenal.