It’s official. The activation ceremony for Air Force Global Strike Command will take place on Aug. 7 at Barksdale AFB, La., according to an Air Force release. Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz will preside over the ceremony. Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, currently assistant vice chief of staff, will assume command of Global Strike Command on that day, taking responsibility for organizing, training, and equipping airmen for the service’s nuclear deterrence and global strike missions. The new major command will have oversight of the Air Force’s Minuteman III ICBMs and B-2 and B-52 nuclear-capable bomber fleets. The new organization is expected to start initial operations at the end of September. The Minuteman missiles are scheduled to transfer over from Air Force Space Command to AFGSC oversight in December, followed by the bomber force from Air Combat Command next February. Barksdale was selected in April as the new command’s headquarters, pending completion of the environmental impact assessment.
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.